Sands Apart
by beardeddragongurl
Summary: A GaaraXOC fanfic, as well as NaruXOC yaoi in later chapters. Gaara believes himself to be a monster. Will that change when he meets a certain silver-haired kunoichi? Rated M for lemons in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Sands Apart is a fanfic based off of a role play that me and my awesome friend Sora wrote. I'd like to thank her for all the plot twists she came up with, as well as how wonderfully she portrayed Gaara. She contributed just as much, if not more, to this fanfic as I did.

**Warning**: I do not own Naruto. The only thing I own is my OC, Sachi. This story is rated M for lemon in future chapter.

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Gaara stood silently, a little ways from Naruto's village. He was looking out at the woods, not seeming to be watching anything in particular. His face was blank and his sand at peace in its gourd… for now. Was he troubled? Not even he was sure. Only his hair moved, billowing lightly in the breeze.

Meanwhile, not too far away a young kunoichi's breath came out in short gasps, and she paused long enough to brush a strand of silver hair from her eyes before continuing with her task of training. Slender fingers grasped the roughly worn wood of a bow, and she aligned it with her eyesight, giving one last exhale before releasing the arrow. Her bright silver eyes followed the weapon's path as it sliced through the air, narrowly missing the tree she had been aiming for. Sachi Oshiro's brow furrowed at the mistake, before preparing to try again.

Gaara's head turned slightly, his eyes becoming intent as he caught sight of a girl. It seemed she was trying too hard, aiming to hit a tree with her arrows. He watched a moment longer before moving closer, about a hundred feet behind her, simply observing silently. He sat down crossed legged, arms resting in his lap as he watched.

With her lip clenched firmly between her teeth in concentration, Sachi shifted her weight to her front foot as she slowly began to transfer chakra from her hands to her favored weapon. Sure enough, the very tip of the arrow began to give off a weak hue, as if some sort of dying blue flame had ignited. Aligning the bow as best she could once more, she raised the two fingers that had been holding the projectile back. But unlike last time, the arrow met its mark, burrowing itself into the rough bark of the tree. The silver-haired nin stood to retrieve her weapon, having the sudden uncomfortable feeling that she was being watched.

Gaara's head tilted to the side a bit, looking curious. His sand made a smooth rustle as it too felt his curiosity. Gaara stood up, meekness in his eyes that you wouldn't see behind the cold blockade.

The slightest of noises caught her attention, and she turned to look over her shoulder for any sign of an intruder. "Hello?" her voice was barely above a whisper, and in the back of her mind she questioned whether it could even be heard. For all she knew, it might have been just a bird, or perhaps the wind that had made the noise, though her mind told her otherwise. She took a step towards where she had heard the disturbance, the crunching of dry leaves underfoot clearly giving away where she was, making her an easy target.

Gaara moved closer, his footsteps making no noise. He slowly came into view, stopping as soon as she could see him. His face was expressionless, his voice slow and somewhat soft. "…I haven't seen you before." he said. It wasn't a question, just a fact. His voice could be heard, but the tone made you listen.

She took a startled step back, barely refraining from jumping in surprise. She certainly hadn't been expecting the male's sudden appearance, but even so, she took a calming breath in an attempt at gathering her thoughts together. "…Who are you?" she questioned cautiously, unsure of why he had made that statement. Her voice once again came out quieter than she had meant, almost to the point of sounding timid or frightened. Her gaze flickered up to his forehead, taking in the mark that sat there, before making eye contact again.

Gaara stayed silent for a moment, his piercing eyes searching hers. She was no danger to him...that he knew. But he wasn't one for a lot of chit-chat. He nodded his head slightly, the kanji mark for love now mostly covered by his hair. "...Gaara." He said, his sand rustling slightly in question. Normally he would not have toyed with words, but he was interested in the girl. "Who...are you?"

"I'm Sachi..." Her answer was nearly as short as his, and since he had made no move to attack, the grip on her bow slackened ever-so-slightly. Even so, she could still practically feel a deadly aura surrounding him, as if he could easily kill her any moment that he wished, and she didn't doubt that. It was a tense situation, she had always been a little too trusting and he still hadn't shown any sign of violence towards her, but that aura was still intimidating.

He frowned slightly as his sand began to grow bored, rustling in its gourd. He hummed softly, hushing it with an inaudible word. He then turned his attention back to Sachi. He could feel her tenseness still, and smiled slowly. "Fear is healthy." he said slowly, not moving.

The smallest of shivers traveled down her spine as he spoke. Something about him seemed… unnatural, possibly inhuman, and it made her feel like a rabbit with its foot caught in a bear trap, facing down a hungry wolf. "Yes, but even so, no one likes to feel fear. It makes them feel vulnerable…" she wasn't even quite sure what she was rambling on about, she just felt that she had to respond to the comment, and at the time, she needed to solidify what she was feeling, like it would make her more assured.

"...To be feared, is to be respected." He said, in a softer tone. His eyes moved to look over her shoulder, a familiar face he saw this time. Sasuke looked as grim as ever as he glared at Gaara from behind Sachi. Gaara bowed slightly before turning and walking slowly away. Sasuke spoke now to Sachi, "It isn't good to hang around him." He said sternly, hands in his pockets.

Sachi stepped to the side in order to see Sasuke, a look of confusion on her face. "Why?" she turned to watch Gaara, silently wishing he wouldn't leave her with the raven-haired male. She had seen him a few times around the village, and his uncaring attitude made her scared of getting in his way for fear of being scolded, or worse. Despite her better judgment, she directed her gaze back towards Sasuke. "…He doesn't seem so bad."

Sasuke shook his head slightly, "Just watch yourself then. There's a demon in that man… Don't say I didn't warn you." He shrugged a bit before turning and dashing off, soon out of view. Gaara had stopped out of sight to listen in, and frowned as he turned again to walk away. Had he hoped that she didn't know? What did he care? His sand rustled with jealousy.

Sachi stood frozen to the spot for a moment, and by the time she had somewhat recovered from this new information, Sasuke had already disappeared. Her head turned to the side, picking out the two opposite paths that both Sasuke and Gaara had taken. And yet again, she went against her better judgment, swiftly darting around to head deeper into the forest and away from the village. "Gaara…?" her heartbeat seemed to increase in pace for the fact that since he was so quiet, he could very well pop up at any moment and scare the living daylights out of her.

"...Yes?" Came the reply, from up on a branch in one of the surrounding trees. He looked down at her, his face almost innocently tilted to the side again. So she had come looking for him, and not the Uchiha… Did this hold some significance?

She had been expecting it, but that didn't make it any less startling. A quiet squeak escaped as her head lifted sharply upwards to look at him. Had he heard the short conversation that had taken place between her and Sasuke? "Why'd you walk off like that?" there it was again, that whisper-voice of hers that could barely be heard. It wasn't an accusation, rather an honest question.

Gaara looked up, apparently thinking. His voice came rather thoughtfully once he spoke. "The young Uchiha and I do not get along very well…" he said, pausing. He looked down at her, "You're not afraid of me, even with what information he gave you? You even came after me. Why?" his voice was that of a small child, confused.

Sachi looked up at him for a few more seconds before she gave her reply. "I'll admit you scared me at first, but if you have yet to do anything to give me reason to be afraid, why should I fear you?" Her gaze sought a low-lying tree branch just above her head, and she pushed a small amount of chakra to the bottoms of her sandals before jumping upwards, landing on the thin branch with difficulty. At least now she was closer.

Everything about Sachi's behavior confused him. Not even Temari or Kankuro wanted to be close to him if they could help it, he knew this. But yet this girl sought him out. He gazed down at her intently, his eyes tracing every line, looking at every tone, and watching every breath. His sand gave a warning rustle. Gaara ignored it. It was strange, this feeling that hard sprung up in him. A gladness, a longing at the same time.

She took the fact that he hadn't made a move to leave again a good thing, or so she hoped. Reaching up to brush that persistently annoying strand of hair from her eyes, she grabbed the silence as a moment to add something to her last statement, something she had believed whole-heartedly since she had been a student in the Academy. "-Besides, if you run away from things constantly, or live your life in fear, what fun is that?" Leaning back so that she could see him better, she gave a small yawn, hoping the complete silence wasn't him contemplating how ridiculous she was being.

Gaara gave a small nod, "No fun at all…" He said, shifting on his perch. He wasn't use to so much contact with someone at one time... But he didn't mind talking to her. "You want to sit up here?" He asked, holding out a hand to her. He didn't know why he offered, but he wanted to try and be kind… His sand was growing more restless, feeling neglected.

A smile worked its way onto her face as she stood, taking the offered hand and working her way onto the next branch up almost clumsily. His hand had a rough feeling to it, and it felt slightly colder than hers, and once she was sure she had her balance, she released it and settled down next to him with her legs dangling over the edge. "Thank you."

Gaara nodded, looking down. He was silent now, seeming almost shy. The only noise was the soft rustle of his sand. It was saying things to him… How he was weak, and stupid for not taking advantage of how close she was. Gaara did his best to ignore the voices, not something he attempted often.

The sand caught Sachi's attention, and she leaned back for a few seconds to get a proper look at the gourd. "What… exactly is that?" she asked, an eyebrow rose upward in curiosity. Throughout this entire time, she hadn't really paid attention to the large object on his back. It was clearly a gourd of some sort, and by the scraping and rustling sounds that were being emitted from within, it was hollow. But the question remained, what was inside?

Gaara looked at her, and then stared off into space. "...Mother..." He whispered, "She wants to meet you." His strange smile crept onto his face as the cork came off of the gourd with a loud 'pop!' His sand exploded from it, swirling around them both. The leaves were ripped off the trees around them, and the tree swayed. Gaara smile softened as a bit of the sand crept along his arm and traced around his hand, almost like a cat begging for attention.

Her mouth opened to ask what he meant, but the moment the sand began violently whirling around them, her eyes widened and her mouth clamped shut. This was something else she hadn't been expecting, and her breath seemed to catch in her throat, torn between being startled, and amazed. "…Wow." She whispered, her eyes following the path the sand took around them, and she pulled her knees up into her chest loosely, just in case she was in the way. "You control sand?" it was more of a statement than a question, but she couldn't help but say something, anything, even as she watched the sand slink around his arm.

At the word 'control', the sand did a sort of hiccup and darted in at her. Gaara raised his head and then took control for a moment, the sand rushing back into its gourd like a scolded child. His breathing was irregular, as if being startled out of a trance. He looked at her, his face expressionless once more. "...Do you like sand?" He asked softly as his sand became settled.

"I… I guess so. We don't have much sand here, except in the lakes…" Her breath steadied and she let her feet slide down so they were dangling off the branch. His sand… It was like it had a mind of its own, and for a moment she was sure it would have knocked her right off the branch. "Do you?" that may have been the stupidest question she had ever asked. If he didn't like sand, he certainly wouldn't use it, right?

Gaara nodded in response, "Indeed...I am a Sand nin." He noticed she had been unnerved a bit as the near incident. "I will not let it hurt you." He stated, tilting his head slightly. He looked at her curiously. Even though it had scared her, she still stayed, and this amazed him.

She had suspected he wasn't from Konoha since she had never seen him in the streets, or during missions, and the fact that he was a Sand nin made sense as well, it was quite fitting actually. Taking the time to sneak a glance at the gourd once more, she bowed her head, letting another warm smile plaster itself to her face. "I don't doubt that." She said lightly in response to his last assurance. For someone that could destroy her in the blink of an eye, so easily, he appeared to become kinder towards her with each passing moment. And in return, she felt comfortable around him despite this, something that made her confused and forced her to think.

Gaara smiled, and it was strange… An actual genuine smile. Something he never did. His sand armor melted away, his skin visibly smoothening. He wondered why he felt he could lower that last defense of his, but he didn't question himself, and left it that way. "…No one else treats me this way… Like a person." He stated, pausing. "Except...Naruto."

Sachi watched as the last of the sand armor fell away from him, and she resisted the urge to gape. This entire time she hadn't noticed he even had the armor, and at the same time, he was actually smiling. Here he was, lowering all of his defenses in front of her, displaying the fact that he could trust. Her thoughts were pulled to Naruto, the 'hyperactive blonde idiot of Konoha', and how he treated every being he met with kindness and respect. "You are a person, you deserve to be treated like one…" her eyes saddened for a few seconds as her eyes scanned his face, unable to, as well as unwilling to, imagine what he had gone through at the hands of other people.

Gaara looked at her, his eyes delving deep into hers. "You think of me as a person, and not a monster for the demon inside me?" He asked, as he did, his throat tightened slightly. He looked away from her, his teeth clenching. "Even Kankuro does not think so. They fear me...all of them."

Sachi closed her eyes, noticing how he was clearly struggling with the fact that many people thought of him as a creature. "The demon inside you is the monster, not you. You're a person, like everyone else." To try and prove her point, she reached out, and placed a hand over where his heart would be. "See? You have a heartbeat." Sure enough, she could feel the feint beating of his heart underneath where her palm sat.

Gaara's left hand moved to lay over hers, before he looked at her. He tried to remember the last time he had been touched so softly. Her hand felt so fragile under his, so soft. His thumb ran over it slowly and he looked at her once more, his eyes for once holding the emotion generally hidden from view.

Her smile broadened when it appeared he understood what she was trying to say; though her face was flushed slightly from the contact she wasn't used to. Even so, she felt she needed to add something else to her point, to reassure him. "Most people seem to fear things they don't understand, or can't see. It's like… an instinct for them." She tried to explain, but now even she was confusing herself. Her hand remained in the same position for a moment longer, over his heart and under his hand, before she gingerly removed it, brushing her fingertips against the top of his wrist and placing it back at her side.

Gaara lowered his hand slowly, perhaps a little dazed. He looked at her, his eyes unreadable. "I am glad you do not have such an instinct." He said softly. So many things were confusing him...but mostly the feeling building in him. It was… Strange, and perhaps… Frightening for him. He wanted to reach out, take her hand again, and feel her skin. It was not often he took down his armor and was able to feel such softness. But it was more than that.

A small sigh escaped past her lips, and she bent her head downwards to watch her feet swing idly back and forth, seeing as the fact that every time she made eye contact with him, her heart felt like it would jump out her throat and fall to the ground. She'd quite possibly never felt this comfortable around someone this quickly, if that was what you could call it, or if it was something more. "So am I." instead of her regularly soft voice, there was a hint of confidence there, showing she clearly meant it, and it wasn't just a flimsy small-talk comment.

Gaara smiled softly as he reached out slowly, as if to take her hand… When a loud noise, an explosion sounded from Konoha.

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A/N: Haha, sorry for the cliffhanger.  
Well, there you go, the first chapter of Sands Apart. I hope you liked it, and I plan on updating the next chapter as soon as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you all so much for the reviews! I'm very pleased that the first chapter was liked as much as it was. I promised to update as soon as possible, so without further stalling, here it is!

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Gaara looked up quickly as shouts filled the air, and the sound of fighting. He jumped down, just as three Sound nin were running past. They glanced at him and rushed him, one jumping into the tree to attack Sachi. Gaara gave a loud growl and his sand exploded, his armor quickly rising to defend him. His sand split, one aiding him in fighting the two Sound nin, and the other half swooped up to the one in the tree in a death grip.

It happened so quickly, Sachi had little to no time to react before they were ambushed, though she barely had her bow off her shoulder when the sand had captured the Sound nin that had been going for her. A fearful look crossed her face, and she leapt down to the next branch to make sure Gaara was okay. It was then that she caught sight of another small group of enemy-nin racing towards the village, and it was apparent they still hadn't noticed them. As they neared, she crouched down and placed three arrows within the bow, only to fire them off without hesitation. Two found their targets, burrowing themselves into the attacker's chests, while the other one narrowly missed someone's arm.

Gaara blocked one of the nin's attacks, and crushed the other. His eyes flashed with the joy of a fight, the strange smile returning to his face. His sand lapped up the blood from the nin as it crushed him, the nin screaming to the pleasure of Gaara. He rushed past Sachi, his sand already circling the other sound nin. He stood, the wind billowing around him, grinning widely. Quickly he made his hand signs, his eyes flashing once more. "Sand Coffin!" He shouted. His sand rose and collapsed on top of the sound nin, their screams muffled before being silenced. The sand crept back, making pleased sounds in Gaara's head. Left, were the nin's mangled bodies...

With the very short break in the attacks, Sachi looked ahead to see Gaara, fighting mercilessly against their enemies. At the moment, he really did appear near impossible to be defeated, as if he were his own army. She quickly turned her head away from the bodies. Despite the fact that she was a shinobi, she feared death above all else, it had been that way ever since she was a child. But even when she couldn't see the corpses, her nostrils flared momentarily as the scent of blood wafted around her, making her cringe and continue forward. It was clear Konoha was in trouble, the sound of explosions and agonizing screaming said that. So as she fired off two more arrows towards the heads of a couple of Sound-nin, she couldn't help but wonder how bad their odds were.

Gaara headed into the village, where he saw at least twenty Naruto's fighting. Sakura was being outnumbered, and he quickly killed the Sound nin he could find. They were heading further into the village, to the Hokage.

Sachi looked over her shoulder before following behind Gaara, her ears picking up more screams from an unknown location in the village. Her archery wasn't exactly meant for close combat, but she fired arrows whenever she could, aiming for a clear shot to the chest or head. Sweat was beginning to form on her brow again as she ran, trying her best to ignore the bodies of both Sound nin, Konoha villagers and shinobi sprawled against the ground.

Some of the Sound nin must have gotten together after learning Gaara was here. As he was running, five of them jumped at him. His sand blocked their attacks, but was kept busy making him unable to attack.

Sachi skidded to a halt, her feet kicking up a small cloud of dirt around her as she spotted Gaara being attacked ahead of her. His sand was protecting him, but at the same time he couldn't attack. Her breath caught in her throat and she raised her bow without thinking, releasing two arrows towards the cluster. One hit its target, while the other barely skimmed across an enemy nin's shoulder. If she wasn't careful, she would end up firing at Gaara on accident.

Gaara could barely see Sachi as she shot arrows at his attackers. He felt suddenly weak and made his move to attack them himself. He would have her thinking he needed saving. He let out cry, half laugh half a strange roar as his sand parted and swept down to drill straight through one of the Sound nin. Another one behind him however, attacked him with a chakra fueled blow to the shoulder. Gaara cried out and fell to his knees in pain. He wasn't used to actually being hit, and his sand swirled around him forming an impenetrable barrier to protect him. He didn't have much blood, but the nin had managed to crack his sand armor, and blood trickled through his fingers as he held his shoulder.

A shortened yelp of surprise came from Sachi as she witnessed Gaara being struck, having only a split second to view the blood on his shoulder before the sand enveloped him. Worry began bubbling up from her stomach, and she took a few frantic steps forward, at the same time loading two more arrows. This was the closest she had come to feeling anger in who knew how long, and as she shot at another nin, adrenaline began coursing through her system, making the unwanted emotion cloud her mind.

Gaara was breathing harder now, beginning to lose what sanity he had left in this battle. And if he did that... Lord help those who got in his way. His demon was trying to come out, to take control and fight. In short it was a battle inside of him. His sand was convulsing around him, like a beating heart. It looked mad... Angry. It reached out and killed another attacking nin, and the rest fled from the sand.

Taking the given opportunity, Sachi shot at one of the retreating Sound nin, the arrow embedding itself between his shoulder blades before he fell. Her attention turned to the sand, and despite the situation, she couldn't help but stare at it curiously for a few fleeting seconds. Something was going on within it, and from the way it was acting, the outcome probably wouldn't be good. Before she could act, her focus was pulled back to the battle as a kunai narrowly missed her side, and she spun around on her heel in an attempt to hit a couple more of the cowardly Sound nin.

Inside the protection of his sand, Gaara was using the rest of his strength to keep his demon locked away. He cried out as he fell forward onto the ground, unconscious. His sand went limp and crawled slowly back into its gourd. Gaara's breath was light, but his heartbeat was irregular. He had worn himself out in order to stop the demon from taking control. Never before had he fought it so hard. He had done so for one reason, to keep Sachi safe. And he'd never done something to protect someone like that before...

An odd sound reached her ears while she had her back turned, like a sort of dull thud. Sure enough as she spun around, her gaze fell upon Gaara, out cold on the ground. Her mind completely forgot the battle going on around them and the hand that held her bow dropped to her side as she sprinted to him, an unfamiliarly sickening feeling now residing in her throat. "Gaara?" Her voice came out sounding almost frantic as she crouched next to his limp form, desperately hoping he was okay. She could see he was breathing, but it wasn't as strong as it should have been. "Come on…" she pleaded quietly, so quietly the explosions around them probably drowned her out, and she placed a hand on his arm hesitantly, giving a light shake to try to wake him up.

Gaara felt her touch his arm, but couldn't open his eyes. Instead, his sand came out of its gourd and reached for her, petting her cheek lightly. He hoped this would be enough to let her know he was alright… And the sand fell limp as Gaara lost his last bit of strength.

She couldn't help but give a quiet sigh of relief as she felt the rough, gritty substance caress her cheek; at least he knew she was there. Her head lifted to check out the current damage to the village, though it was difficult to determine where they stood. There weren't as many enemy nin crowding this street as there were in others, and it seemed there were almost an even amount of dead shinobi, both from Konoha and Sound. Sachi tried to ignore that last thought as her bow lifted again, and she shot at a stray Sound ninja not too far off, whom had his back turned to them.

Suddenly, Naruto was running by, and paused to wave to Sachi with a goofy grin. "Hey, Sachi! Haha, the Sound are on the run! The old woman really gave them a good scare!" He laughed as he ran on, leaving them behind. The explosions had stopped, and there were no more screams to be heard, though Gaara still lay there.

"Thank goodness…" Sachi's shoulders slumped at the news, and she gave Naruto a grateful nod before he ran off again. So it was over, for now at least. She no longer had to worry about defending them, just if Gaara would be okay. Her knees folded in as her ankles twisted to the side, so that she could take up a more comfortable position on the ground. "We need to get you to the hospital." She murmured lightly as she stared down at him, even if he couldn't hear her, his shoulder needed to be tended to.

Gaara was more or less sleeping now, but he could still feel the pain. Sasuke and Naruto came back, holding a stretcher between them. They laid it on the ground, Sasuke with a large scowl, and then moved Gaara carefully onto it. Naruto smiled at her, "I thought you could use the help." He said as they lifted Gaara up.

Sachi's face lit up, and she gave them both a warm smile, even if Sasuke was currently wearing his 'there's-something-perpetually-stuck-up-my-butt' look. "Thank you…" She gave a grateful nod of her head before turning to pick up her bow and placing it on her shoulder. As they lifted him off the ground, she sidled over to stand as close to Gaara as possible without getting in their way, trying not to think of what would've happened if they hadn't shown up. She wouldn't have been able to lift and transport him the whole way to the hospital.

Naruto nodded to Sasuke and they took Gaara to the hospital. They took him back to a room, where the nurses shoved them out and told them to sit in the hall for a few minutes. Sasuke grumbled something and left. Naruto sat next to Sachi in the hall way, "So, how long have you known Gaara?" He asked with a smile.

Sachi looked around the small room before hesitantly leaning against the white-washed dirty wall. "…I just met him today." She admitted sheepishly, her eyes focusing on the door Sasuke had just exited. It had been a while since she had actually sat down and talked to Naruto, and of course the first subject they talked about just had to be Gaara.

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, "He's not a bad guy… Most people just think he is. But he's really a lot like me!" He said, grinning. "Heh, don't ya think so?"

The nurses in the room had taken off Gaara's shirt and bandaged his shoulder. His gourd was on the floor by the bed.

She lifted a hand up to muffle her laughter, trying to nod at his first statement. "He's a bit less energetic, but yes, he is a bit like you…" Sachi smiled towards the blonde boy, running through all of their similarities in her mind. They were both strong, stubborn, and kind, among other things. "…Naruto, do you remember what your first impression was, when you met Gaara?" she asked curiously, remembering what he had said about others believing him to be a monster.

Naruto smiled, and nodded quickly. "Yup! I thought he was pretty quiet, but he was a nice guy."

The nurse peeked out before coming into the hall. "You may visit with him now… He's coming to." She said, before bowing and heading down the hall.

Gaara lay on the bed, his eyes closed, though he was awake. His toned chest rose and fell normally now.

Sachi stood from the chair without hesitation, and she gave another shaky smile towards Naruto, a silent thank-you for helping them again. She stepped forwards and around the corner into the room, the sound of her sandals hitting the polished floor echoing through the small hallway. Standing about a foot away from the edge of the bed, she couldn't help but smile again, unaware that he was awake.

"I have… Much to thank you for, Sachi." Gaara said, opening his eyes and looking at her. They had given him some painkillers for his wound, and he could hardly feel it right now. He looked perhaps a little crestfallen at the moment, however. And it seemed he was still weak because his sand armor wasn't up.

A deep look of confusion crossed her face as she took a small step towards him, resting both hands on the edge of the bed. "Why? I didn't do anything…" She scanned her memories, desperately trying to figure out what he was talking about, how she had helped him. However, her search proved fruitless, and she tilted her head curiously as she waited for his reply, gaze flickering to where the bandages covered his bare shoulder.

Gaara turned his head away, "You came to my aid… And looked after me once I had fallen." He closed his eyes for a moment, "And you...you never once turned from me, to let me die."

The confused look slackened slightly, but a part of it remained. "I'd rather be killed than leave a friend to die." She stated firmly, giving him an odd look. "Were you really expecting me to leave?" she questioned in a hushed tone so that no one from the hallway could hear their discussion.

Gaara looked at her, his eyes holding pain. "Most would have." He stated with a hurt tone. His hands tightened into loose fists, "Anyone else is this village… Would have gladly rid themselves of me."

Sachi's throat constricted as he spoke, and she bit her lip. "Don't talk like that, some people are just… selfish. You'll always have a purpose as long as you live, even if you don't know what it is yet." Her voice quivered as she lowered her head in thought, realizing how much pain he was going through, and the fact that he had probably lived like this for a long time.

Gaara's face fell, his hands going limp. "...I am sorry." He said softly, looking down. He was also ashamed. How weak he must look to her right now, laying in this hospital. And Gaara hated looking weak. But that seemed to be amplified with Sachi.

Once she spotted the look he gave, she closed her eyes in annoyance at herself, believing she was the one causing him to feel bad."Don't be sorry…" she whispered almost inaudibly as her eyes reopened, and she looked down at him with an unreadable expression.

Gaara nodded solemnly, his mouth a firm line. He then looked at her curiously. "...Why did you come to see me?" He asked.

Sachi was somewhat surprised at the question he had asked, as if it were painfully obvious why, but she answered anyways. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. I was worried…" The edges of her lips bent upwards into a tired grin, and again her silver eyes flickered over to his shoulder wound, then back to his jade eyes for reassurance.

Gaara gave her a weak smile, "You are indeed kind to me." He said, his eyes flashing with something never seen in them before… Happiness. He lightly bit his bottom lip, "You don't have to stay... If you don't want to."

Sachi shrugged as if to say it was no big deal, and gave a cheeky grin. "I wasn't planning on leaving any time soon, especially when you're stuck here." She teased, motioning towards the small room they were in. As much as she disliked hospitals, the smell, the illness and death, the blood… She was willing to stay all night if she had to, to keep him company while he recovered. As if to re-enforce her statement, she yawned and leaned against the side of the bed with her arms crossed.

Gaara smiled slightly, "Very well then." He said. The cork on his gourd popped off and the sand pushed the arm chair next to his bed. The sand went back into the gourd quickly, as if it too wanted its rest.

"That's handy." Sachi chuckled as she watched the sand retreat, before falling onto the chair lazily. Turning herself so that she could see him, her hand began absentmindedly fumbling with a small tear in her shirt sleeve, something she had received from the earlier battle without even knowing it. "So… What do you think the Hokage is going to do about the Sound-nin problem?" she asked, not really wanting to approach the subject of war, but she was really wanted to know.

Gaara shook his head slightly, "I don't know. I'm sure she will come up with something, she's smart." He said, his eyes drooping a little. Slowly he reached over, taking her hand in his loosely as his eyes closed. He wanted sleep, but was afraid that she might leave once he fell asleep… At least that's what he told himself his reason was for taking her hand.

Another smile worked its way onto her features, and she made an unintelligible sound of agreement as he took her hand. Along with the smile, a light pink came to the surface of her cheeks, but she didn't try to pull away, in fact, she quite liked the feel of her hand in his, and she gave a gentle squeeze to show she wasn't going anywhere. He was like a small child, unsure of the world and what it had to offer, as well as extremely curious, and this amused her.

Gaara was amazed that she did not pull away, but pleased. He fell asleep soon, but he could still feel her hand, so soft in his… It made him happy. He hoped she would stay with him even after he was rested… But he would not make her. It seemed to him that she was like a bird. Small, fragile, and not to be held against her will. He would be happy enough to see her every once in a while, so he told himself. But soon his sleep grew deeper, and his thoughts were lost.

She leaned over the arm of the chair for a few minutes, hand still clasped in his, watching him as he slept. Part of her wanted to stay up while he was asleep, to watch over him. But another, much more stubborn side of her, was making her eyelids droop in exhaustion, the fight had taken quite a bit of chakra from her, and she needed sleep. Her head was still facing Gaara as it leaned against the back of the chair, and her eyes closed, allowing her to unwillingly drift off to sleep.

Gaara awoke with a start, and found that he had lost hold of Sachi's hand. He looked over to find her still asleep, and smiled. He sat up, his shoulder a bit stiff, but not hurting badly. He reached over and stroked her cheek softly, amazed to find her face was softer yet than her hands. They must have slept through the night, for the birds were chirping and the morning sun peeked into the window.

A soft brush against her cheek brought her out of the light sleep she had been in, and she was somewhat startled to find her hand was no longer in Gaara's grasp. Though once her eyes opened and she realized who had touched her, she visibly relaxed, smiling up at him. "Morning."

Gaara smiled, "Morning." He said, looking about them. The door to the room opened as the nurse stepped in, "How are you feeling?" she asked politely, leaving the door open. Gaara nodded his head to her, "Better." The nurse smiled slightly, "Good. You may leave as soon as you please." She said, quickly bowing and leaving out the door. Gaara got up slowly, standing a little unevenly. But after taking a few 

steps he smiled at Sachi as he grabbed up his shirt and pulled it on slowly. He was more than ready to leave.

Almost as if she hadn't been sleeping just two minutes ago, Sachi's eyes snapped open, and she shot from her chair excitedly and to Gaara's side, her feet scuffing the ground like an excited dog waiting to escape outside to freedom.

Gaara chuckled, another new thing for him. He took her hand, a bit more surely this time, and walked out of the room with her. His shoulder was stiff, but he would work it back into shape. He didn't want to worry about anything else but Sachi for a while. What other new things would he learn from her? He smiled as he wondered. A few of the nurses looked at him funny, for they had never seen him smile so much before. Gaara paid them no mind as they walked out into the sunshine.

**--**

**A/N: Well, there you go. Again, I hoped you enjoyed the second chapter of Sands Apart, and I plan on updating as soon as I can. Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

I'd like to thank you all once again for the reviews, you don't know how much I love them. (Shows how easily amused I am.) Sorry it took me a bit longer to update, I've been a bit busy. So, here you go. ;

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It had been a few days after Gaara had gotten out of the hospital, and he was sitting cross legged in the training field meditating. He was having a hard time concentrating though, for something was always nagging him from the back of his mind. He had seen Sachi only a few times since the day he got out, and he sighed in frustration. Opening his eyes, he stood slowly and began going through the motions for his physical training. He performed his kicks flawlessly, but his right handed punches were lacking in power and force. He growled in frustration yet again and sped up his movements.

* * *

Wandering the streets aimlessly definitely wasn't helping her restlessness, not at all. With a restrained sigh, the silver-haired girl changed direction, her hand darting up and over her shoulder to release the bow from its holding place as she headed for the training grounds. It wouldn't hurt to practice her archery, and relieve the energy that seemed trapped within her.

Once she had reached the edge of the forest line in which the grounds sat she stopped, her ears picking up a very faint sound. She wasn't sure who, but there was definitely someone else nearby.

Gaara was releasing a few more moves before standing still, his face grim and beads of sweat on his forehead. He paused before going into slower motions, more relaxed and fixed on working his balance and his mind. They were slow and graceful arm movements, and with them his mind began to calm down. His sand rustled though as it picked up its new favorite aura, one that could only belong to Sachi. Gaara had tuned out any noises from his restless sand, and continued with his training.

As stealthily as she could manage, Sachi came up behind a larger tree that bordered alongside the clearing, her gaze following the noises until it rested on a familiar figure. Subconsciously, the edges of her lips creased upwards into a small smile as she watched him train. She felt a bit bad for spying like she was, but he looked so… calm, relaxed. She leaned the front half of her body against the other side of the tree in order to get more comfortable, the bark merely scraping up against the side of her cheek.

His sand grew so loud that Gaara paused in his movements, and a small smile lit his face. "You're going to have to work on your stealth, Sachi." As he opened his eyes and turned to face her, her name came out softer then the rest of the sentence. He looked at her and his sand calmed down, having finally successfully notified its master.

Sachi nearly dislodged herself from her position and fell to the ground in surprise once she had been found out. Instead, a jokingly childish groan escaped her, and she rolled her eyes as she took a few steps toward him, smile growing bigger. "I didn't think you'd hear me that quickly." She responded casually. Realizing her bow was still clenched in her hand, she laughed nervously and replaced it back over her shoulder where it belonged.

Gaara's smile widened, "I did not, but I'm sure you can guess who did." His sand rustled loudly, and in Gaara's head it sounded like a child's laughter. He chuckled lightly along with it. Then he became silent, taking a few steps toward her. His eyes grew soft, though they also looked nervous. "…I have missed you."

Her gaze flickered over to the sand for a short moment and then back at him. Her heart rate felt like it was almost doubling, but it wasn't out of fear. "I've missed you too." She admitted quietly, voice almost a whisper again. There was just something about him that made it feel like her heart would jump out her throat, or that there were butterflies in her stomach, and she always felt calm when she was around him, feelings she wasn't used to. Though she had an idea as to what it was, and in the past few days she had slowly been beginning to accept it.

Gaara didn't understand any of it. Something was causing his mind to grow cloudy when she was around… and something else inside him tried to take over. It didn't feel like the demon… but he was unsure. He even found that his sand could offer no reassurance on this fact either. And Gaara did something he wasn't use to doing… taking a chance. And he took one now, walking to her and grasping her hand gently, and placing it on his chest. He stood close to her, gazing down at her. His pulse was beating erratically, his breathing a bit shallow as he found he was afraid of this new feeling. His eyes were pleading, "Sachi… why is it going so fast? What is it that comes over me when I'm with you?" He asked, not unlike an unsure child.

Sachi closed her eyes for a moment from the contact, and her heart felt as if it was swelling as she tried to hold back the small bit of amusement she had from his child-like confusion. This was a pretty delicate situation. Even if she was confident that she knew what he was feeling, seeing as she was experiencing it herself, it was possible that if she didn't explain it properly then things could just become even more confusing, even painful for him. Her fingers gripped the cloth of his shirt lightly as she took a deep breath, and looked up at him. "Well, Gaara, it's possible you may have a certain… attraction towards me-" she paused for a moment, figuring the best way was to be blunt so that he could understand, and her eyes closed again as she added the last part quietly. "…Like I have for you."

Gaara moved his head to the side slightly, "I think I… understand." He took a small step closer, holding the hand that was on his chest. "Is it… love?" He asked softly, the word might seem strange coming from him. He had heard Temari talk about it before... and Sakura. He knew that what he was feeling was more than a simple attraction.

The smile worked its way back onto her features, and Sachi leaned into him a bit. "Yes, it could be." The realization hit her hard, and a dazed feeling swept over her. That was one emotion she had never quite felt before, besides the love she had for her friends and family, though this would be an entirely new sort of love. It was much more intense, and something she hadn't ever really thought of until now.

Gaara slowly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into an embrace. With her, everything was a first for him. He was only acting off of what he had seen others do, so there was nervousness in his actions. As he put his other arm around her, he rested his head lightly on her shoulder. After a few minutes it felt like he had held her before… and it confused him. One moment it was all new and the next he had done it before. But he did not question it; he simply hugged her tighter, almost possessively. His heart was slowing to a normal rate, and his eyes closed slightly. "…I love you."

Sachi returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around him as he did to her. His statement had certainly taken her by surprise, but only for a moment as she recovered quickly. "I… think I love you too, Gaara." As if her body was acting of its own accord, her eyes clenched shut and she buried her face into his chest, getting as close to him as possible. It was like a cloud had swept over them, blocking out anything and everything except them, and her heart once again felt like it was going to explode, like the moment would never come to an end.

Gaara smiled, and held her. One hand stroked her back lightly, the other in her silver locks. He softly nuzzled against her shoulder as he breathed in her scent. But he felt that they were not alone. He let his eyes glance up to see a young boy, a messenger, standing about twenty feet away. The boy looked nervous, and seemed to be shaking slightly. "M-Mister Gaara, sir?" the boy choked out, "I have a message for you from the H-Hokage." Gaara stood up quickly, pulling away from the embrace to go to the boy. The boy handed him a note and took off running, clearly terrified. Gaara read the note grimly, standing perfectly still, no emotion on his face.

Their peaceful little bubble seemed to burst once the contact was broken, and Sachi stood quietly for a moment, only watching as he read the piece of paper. "…What is it?" she managed to squeak out, eyes becoming clouded with concern once she saw his expression, or lack of one. Her arms crossed over her chest nervously as she waited for a response, staring at the parchment as if she could read it from that distance. Something seemed to shift in her stomach, telling her that something was about to happen, and it wasn't good.

Gaara folded the paper up and looked at it for a moment before crushing it in his hand. He glanced up at her with the same grim expression, "I've been picked to lead an attack on the Sound." He said in a monotone. He quickly turned around and began walking to the village, tossing the note onto the ground. It had said that he needed to see the Hokage to meet his hand picked team... and it also said that they would be leaving early tomorrow morning. Gaara walked briskly, fists clenched. This would be a delicate mission, there was word going around that Orochimaru was now leading the Sound. Who would keep an eye on Sachi while he was gone?

Panic replaced concern, and Sachi's eyes widened as she rushed after him. "But why? The Hokage could've picked anyone…" She was almost pleading, sounding frantic. She had enough experience to know that nearly everyone amongst the front lines of an attack in a war was either badly injured or killed. The mere thought of something like that happening to him made her feel dizzy and sick.

Gaara kept walking, trying not to let emotion into his voice. He would not show how worried he was, for her sake. "I am one of the strongest fighters here… I am sure that the Hokage has her reasons for choosing me. I will do the best to make sure I do not fail." He said, as he climbed the stairs into the building where the Hokage resided. Stepping inside the Hokage's office, He saw Sakura, Sasuke and Ino. Naruto was there too, but it was evident from the look on his face that he was not chosen to go. Gaara made a respectful bow, "Lady Hokage." The Hokage nodded to him, "Now that you are all here, I will brief you on your mission tomorrow. I know it is short notice, but our first team has not returned, and it is up to you to find out what has become of them." She said solemnly as she continued to explain the details of the mission.

Sachi's brow furrowed as she remembered how he had spoken, the fact that his voice was entirely devoid of emotion made her feel even more unsettled. Once he had entered the Hokage's office, she gave a frustrated growl, the nearest thing to anger that she could ever get, and this was by far the closest she had come to that certain emotion in quite a while. Another thing she very rarely felt was hate, but at this very moment she felt hatred towards the Sound village for making her and her own village go through this. Sachi made her way over to lean stiffly against a nearby hallway wall, placing a hand over her forehead to give a weaker groan.

Once the meeting was over, the door swung open, releasing the nin inside. Sakura looked concerned as she slowly approached Sachi. "Are you alright?" She asked. "I heard you and Gaara had been hanging out lately."

Sachi snapped out of her thoughts roughly, giving a small, hesitant shake of her head as she looked over at the pink-haired kunoichi. "I'm really worried about him, and I don't know what to do… I mean, what if-…" she left her question hanging, unable to finish in fear of it actually coming true. She took a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself, though it didn't do much good. Instead, she stared at the floor, hot tears pricking at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them emerge.

* * *

Ino on the other hand had gone to catch up with Gaara, who had long since left the building. She was walking behind him, and they had been talking about little things when she brought up Sachi. "The least you could do is spend time with her tonight!" Ino said, losing her temper from feeling like she was talking to a brick wall. Gaara stopped and turned to glare at her. "And what, give her more to lose? I don't want t-" Ino gave out an exasperated sigh. "Gaara! Don't you see? She loves you, and I know you love her. Don't push her away because of one mission. What makes you think you won't be coming back?" Gaara stopped, remaining silent as she continued her talk in a hushed tone.

* * *

Sakura let out a small gasp, "Sachi… nothing's going to happen. Gaara will be alright. Really!" She said, placing a comforting hand on Sachi's shoulder.

Just then, Gaara and Ino got back, and Ino went in to look for Sachi, leaving Gaara outside to wait for her.

Ino saw the two girls and went over. "Sachi, Gaara is outside. He's waiting for you." She said with a small smile. Sakura backed away with a small smile of her own.

Sachi blinked a few times, sending them both a confused look. Sakura's words as well as their smiles reassured her slightly, and she slowly pushed herself from the wall to make her way down the stairway and out past the entrance to the building. Gaara's hair was the very first thing that caught her attention, and without hesitation she rushed over to wrap her arms around him again. She clung to him as if he would disappear at any moment, and even when that was the one thing she feared, it would be happening... soon enough.

Gaara held her tightly, knowing now just how afraid she was. "Sachi, it's alright. I'm here." He soothed, rubbing her back as he whispered into her ear. Ino's talk had helped him to understand what Sachi needed.  
He slowly lifted her face by her chin, looking down at her lovingly. Carefully, he did as Ino had instructed… and gently placed his lips over Sachi's.

She stiffened for a split second, unsure for a moment if what she thought was happening really was. Sachi relaxed, to where it was like her entire body was made of jelly. How could her knees feel so weak, and she had the sensation of being unable to stand just from a simple gesture? With her mind becoming heavily clouded again, she leaned forward and returned the kiss whole-heartedly, bringing both arms up to loosely wrap around his neck.

Gaara broke their first kiss to start another. Now that it was happening, his instincts began to take over. He held her tightly against him around her waist. He could feel that not only did she need this, but he did as well.

Ino peeked out the door and blushed, quickly dashing back inside where her and Sakura erupted into a fit of giggles. Gaara heard this and pulled away slightly. His eyes were sparkling like never before and he cleared his throat a little. "Perhaps we should… go elsewhere."

Sachi turned her head away from Gaara to look towards the doorway and then back at him, her face now flushed a light pink. "Good idea." She nodded dazedly, sounding out of breath. She stepped back a bit, realizing that they had been clinging to each other in plain view of not only Sakura and Ino, but anyone else who would happen to come by.

Gaara took her hand, "Come on then." He said, smiling. He began walking with her down the road to where he lived here in the village. It was a two story house, the upstairs being his and the downstairs belonging to his brother and sister. He started up the stairs built on the outside of the house, pulling her lightly behind him. He opened the door for her, looking a little nervous. "This is where I live." He said softly. Inside, there was a small kitchen, living room, dining room, full bathroom and his bedroom. It was meekly furnished, and kept clean.

The whole time, Sachi followed behind him silently, not feeling the need to say anything. When she turned the corner to the entrance, her smile only grew broader as she took in the upper level of the house. "I like it, a lot." She reassured gently as she took a few steps inside, still looking around. It wasn't extremely fancy, and she liked that. It had more of a welcoming, comfortable feeling to it. She reached back momentarily, undoing her bow and quiver that sat on her shoulders before stooping to place it near the corner. As she breathed in, her eyes closed again, realizing the room had his scent. It was almost intoxicating.

Gaara smiled, walking in behind her and closing the door. He took his gourd off of his back and set it next to the door. "I know it's not much..." he said, still hesitant somewhat. "I'm glad you like it though." He smiled wider as he held her waist from behind. "You can stay here tonight... if you want to. And while I'm gone, you can stay here as well."

With her eyes still closed, Sachi leaned back into him, tenderly placing her hands over his arms. "I'd love to." She assured, releasing a content sigh. No, she wouldn't worry about tomorrow, or what was to come. Instead, she'd think about and enjoy the time she spent with him tonight, and nothing more.

* * *

A while later in the kitchen, Gaara sucked on a slightly burnt finger as he poured the Miso Soup he had prepared into two bowls and grabbed a pair of chopsticks for each of them. He set the table, complete with a small candle in the middle, which he was careful not to burn another finger while lighting it. He peeked into his bedroom with a small smile, "I hope you're hungry." As usual when he cooked, he had taken off his shirt. Otherwise the heat from the stove was too much.

"Starving." At his reappearance, she stood from her perch on the bed and sidled over, feeling her face heat up again when she couldn't help but glance at his shirtless torso for a moment. A few seconds of mentally kicking herself fixed the problem, and she instead directed her attention towards the table he had set up. The soup looked perfect, and the fact that he had taken the time to place a candle in the middle brought a warm smile back to her features.

Gaara pulled out her chair for her, a slightly sheepish smile on his face. "It's not the best, but I hope it will do." He said, moving to sit in his chair on the other side. He picked up his chopsticks, but paused. He wanted to know what she thought first.

Once she sat down, Sachi took notice that he hadn't begun eating yet, and she sent him a questioning glance before taking her own chopsticks and using them to grab at the contents of the bowl before her. Her gaze lowered and she brought it to her mouth, gingerly tasting it, instead of merely slurping it like most would do. A moment's pause, and she looked up at him with a smirk. "You really don't give yourself enough credit. It's delicious." She reassured, already going back to the soup.

Gaara ducked his head and began eating his soup. There was a tinge of pink on his cheeks as he tried his best to concentrate on the soup. It was better than the last time he had made it, but he had worked extra hard on it this time… just for her. He took his time eating, however, for one reason. He had no idea what to do after this. He had asked Ino what she suggested, but she had only winked at him, and said she was sure he could come up with something.

Even though Sachi was normally a relatively slow eater, she managed to finish her soup before him somehow. After her chopsticks had been placed into the bowl she sat back, hands folding into her lap. "Thank you for making the soup, it really was good." She repeated, not quite sure what else to say in order to start up a conversation.

Gaara finished his, and got up, all smiles. He picked up her bowl, "I'm glad you liked it." He said, taking it to the sink to wash them.

Standing from her chair as well, Sachi instead crossed her hands behind her back in a casual manner, watching his every move curiously. She wasn't quite sure what was going to happen next, and quite frankly she didn't care as long as he was with her. Despite the fact that tomorrow was looming just overhead of them, a calming, serene feeling coursed through her again, much like it had earlier when they shared their first kiss.

--

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the seemingly abrubt cut-off at the end, but I had to end the chapter before it got to a certain point. Which means I'm giving you an early warning, there will be a lemon in the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

My apologies for taking so long to update, I've been out of town visiting St. Augustine for the past few days so this was the first time I've been able to get online. Anyways, as another warning this chapter does contain a lemon, so feel free to skip over it if you're not comfortable reading it. As always, thank you all so much for the reviews and feedback.

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Gaara was a little edgy. His muscles, once hidden beneath his shirt, now rippled in plain sight. He was worried about what he should do next; he wanted to make it fun, for both of them tonight. But he didn't know what to do. He dried the bowls and put them back into the cupboard, smiling at her as he turned around. "So." He said casually, coming to her and encircling her waist again. His smirk was a playful one.

Another giggle escaped and Sachi leaned back into his increasingly familiar embrace. "So." She repeated teasingly, taking a chance and turning her head to brush her lips across his for a moment before pulling away again, almost as if she were taunting him. "Any other plans for tonight?" she asked curiously, her voice barely above a whisper due to their close proximity.

He was puzzled by her teasing, but chuckled. "Hmm... I don't know." He half mumbled, nuzzling her neck. He smirked as he turned her head to face him and kissed her. Gaara pulled her closer, not wanting to let go this time. Tonight he didn't want to be apart from her.

Sachi happily complied with the kiss, and this time she wasn't willing to pull away. Her legs took on the same weak-kneed feeling from before, causing her to lean even further against him. The feeling was like no other, almost as if she would pass out from the pure sense of euphoria, and in no way did she want it to end. Both of her slender arms snaked around him and her fingers began caressing his back absentmindedly.

Gaara held her firmly against him as a shiver went down his spine. He had never felt like this before… almost as if he was hungry for her. His tongue ran over her lips and gently slipping into her mouth. This was the way Ino had said you could deepen a kiss, and she was right. It was exquisite. To him, Sachi had a taste that no other could match, and he only wanted more of it.

Sachi's eyes reopened in surprise, but only for a moment. Her head tilted to the side to allow him better access, and she relaxed again. This was something she wasn't used to doing, but once she had adapted to the feeling, she used her own tongue to brush lightly against his, tasting the faint hint of Miso soup that they had finished eating not too long ago. The smallest of groans that she was unable to contain worked its way outward.

Gaara was pleased by the sound he heard come from her. He kissed her with a hunger, sucking lightly on her tongue and pausing long enough to let out a small excited growl as he rubbed her hips.

She couldn't help but smirk at how frantic he seemed, and knowing that she was the cause of it only made her want more. A less restrained groan escaped, though it came out muffled because of the kiss. She pulled away again, but only to catch her breath before leaning up to nibble lightly on his lower lip. She was almost shaking with pleasure, finding that she was losing control of her senses.

Gaara's eyes shimmered with something once again new to him… A want he had never experienced. He moved, pulling away from her nibbling and nipped lightly at her neck. He sucked at one spot until a bluish tint remained, and he smirked widely. "Now they'll know you are mine." He said breathily into her ear.

Sachi reached up to brush her finger against the mark, smiling again. "…I'll always be yours." She assured, leaning forward to kiss him again. She liked this new possessive side of him just as much as the tender side, and her hands moved from his back to his chest, tracing invisible patterns across his muscles.

Gaara grinned as he almost attacked her lips again, this time walking backwards towards his bedroom. He wasn't sure what was going to happen… but as long as it was with her, it couldn't be wrong. He was breathing heavily as he pulled her into the bedroom, her back to the bed. He paused to look at her, his breath coming in small, short gasps for air.

Sachi had gone with him unquestioningly, merely following his lead without tripping over anything. Realizing where he had brought her, she returned his stare for a bit longer before taking a step backwards, so that the back of her legs brushed up against the side of the bed. She was pretty sure she knew where this was going… but she loved him. Her hand reached out to gently grasp his arm, and she gave a light, almost impatient tug.

Gaara more or less scooped her up, and laid her gently on the bed. He moved to lay over her carefully and leaned down to give her a reassuring kiss. He swallowed as he realized what was about to take place, but shoved all worries from his mind. Slowly, his hands traveled up her shirt to touch her bare sides. Her skin was smooth everywhere, perfectly beautiful. He smiled as he kissed her again before pulling up on her shirt.

Sachi blushed, suddenly self-conscious as she felt her shirt slip over her head. She tried to ignore it, instead slowly wrapping one arm around him again, while the other brushed past his waist. Her sandals had fallen off long ago, and by now her toes were beginning to curl in pleasure as she became aware of the air nipping at her bare skin.

Gaara placed kisses along her shoulder, working his way down while his hands worked on her bra. His eyes lit in amazement as he tossed the garment away. Softly, he touched her seemingly flawless breasts. He smiled sweetly as he leaned down to take a soft nipple into his mouth, sucking lightly. One hand gently massaged the other one, while his other hand ran down her back and dipped into her pants.

Her head flew back almost violently, and another moan escaped as she was assaulted with an entirely new feeling. The hand on his back fisted and she dug her nails into his skin, not enough to harm him, but enough to urge him on. She moved beneath him for a moment, struggling to wriggle out of her pants before letting them drop to the side of the bed. The self-conscious feeling disappeared, and she reached down to tug on his pants almost impatiently.

Gaara paused, panting as he slowly and unsurely removed his pants. He had on his boxers, but he shot her a nervous look. He took her hand and guided it to the waistband of his undergarment, wanting her to rid of it as he had for her.

She gripped the flimsy material and gave him a reassuring kiss much like he had, before sliding his boxers downwards. She was breathing even heavier now, lust clouding her eyes as her hands made their way down to touch his flawless skin. Sachi used her elbows to push herself upwards, capturing his lips in another kiss, this time more roughly, more needy than before.

Gaara kissed her back, still feeling nervous, but that was gone the moment she touched him. He gasped into the kiss as he felt his member rub across her leg. He pressed against her, his body crushing down on her and he kissed her greedily. Slowly, he began to move against her, his member brushing past her entrance.

Yet another moan flew past her now paled lips and her hands tangled into his hair, a silent plead not to stop. On reflex her hips jolted upwards against him, resulting in a gasp that sounded a lot like his at the new contact. "Gaara…" she whispered desperately, sounding short of breath.

Gaara moaned and grasped her hips as he thrust into her entrance. He stopped once he was all the way inside her, panting heavily. He let out another gasping moan at how tightly her body constricted around him.

Sachi gave a quiet whimper as he entered her, feeling a short burst of pain from his size. Her breathing changed from deep panting to quickened gasps, though after a moment she seemed to grow accustomed to it. She sighed and tilted her head so that she was looking at him, before hesitantly lifting her hips to meet his. Her breath hitched when she grinded into him and then pulled back, hissing out as her entire lower body seemed to succumb to the pleasure.

Gaara gasped and gritted his teeth, his head rolled back as he started to slowly thrust into her. The feeling was overpowering and a sort of carnal lust began to take over him.

Sachi began rolling her hips in time with his thrusts, unable to contain the series of whimpers and moans that escaped. At this point her mind was no longer functioning properly, and she was acting on mainly instinct alone. Without hesitation she dipped her head forward, leaving a trail of kisses down his neck and shoulder.

He moaned and began to thrust harder, picking up speed. Gaara held her hips firmly as he began to make loud, almost animalistic noises. Something new was happening inside him, it was almost painful but felt so good.

Throwing her head back again, Sachi clenched her eyes firmly shut and she wrapped her arms around him as he continued to thrust into her, desperately clinging to him while bliss wracked her body. It was like there was some sort of pressure building in her lower abdomen with each passing second, and she gave a loud groan, followed closely by what sounded like a growl.

"...Sachi." Gaara whimpered, not sure what was going to happen; His body felt like it was going to explode, but he couldn't stop, and his timing became almost spastic. Any moment now it would happen.

Sachi's eyelids cracked open slightly, and she stared up at him with glazed over eyes. She lifted her head a final time to give him a soft kiss as her hands shot out to the sides, grabbing frantically at the bed sheets. "Gaara!" she yelled out, the pressure in her abdomen suddenly reaching its peak and completely flooding her senses.

Gaara was afraid that he had hurt her, but there was no time to think about it as he released into her. He cried out as he came; his body shuddering. The red-head collapsed on top of her while gasping heavily for air. He wasn't sure what had happened, but a peace came over him that he'd never felt before. Slowly, he felt around for her hand, his eyes still tightly closed, and covered it with his own.

Her entire body seemed to remain clenched up for a moment and her vision whited out as the feeling overcame her. Once she felt him release his seed inside her, she gave one last gasp before pushing her head back into the bed and wrapping her free arm to encircle tightly around his torso. She clasped onto his hand weakly, rubbing a thumb across the top.

Gaara looked down at her, his eyes still clouded, "I'm sorry... if I hurt you." He said breathlessly. He never would want to hurt her, and he was afraid he had. Oddly enough, he had never felt this spent, even after a long battle. He was hit with multiple feelings at once, and suddenly he buried his face in her chest; tears leaking from his eyes. He was so used to having control over himself, over his emotions. It was strange to him; for he had never shed a single tear save for when he was very small.

Her look was that of concern, though she couldn't stop the small smile from forming as she spoke. "Don't be silly, I'm fine..." She cooed reassuringly, reaching up to brush her hand through his red locks. This was the first time she had ever seen him cry, and she felt somewhat helpless, being unable to do anything.  
Instead, she rested her head on his, whispering soothing words in his ear as she replaced her arm back around him.

Gaara let the tears fall; he felt he could trust Sachi. After all, she loved him. He curled himself up a little, cuddling to her. "I love you, Sachi." He said, swallowing the last of his tears. He let his eyes close and held onto her hand as he fell asleep. His sleep was dreamless; peaceful. The first time in years that they were not filled with images of death.

She gave another tender smile at his words, knowing that he meant them made her feel something she had never quite felt before. With her entire body feeling heavy she curled into him as well, taking a moment to move his bangs back as he slept to brush her lips across the mark on his forehead. It wasn't long afterwards that she fell asleep as well, one of the calmest slumbers she had most possibly ever had, with him at her side.

* * *

Gaara woke at first light, the sun not even peeking over the horizon yet. Carefully he climbed out of bed, being sure not to wake her. He grabbed some clothes and got into the shower, quickly washing. He felt different, like a new person. And he smiled slightly, knowing it was because of Sachi. But it was time to get serous, the mission would be tough. He frowned while he dressed, quietly strapping his gourd to his back as he looked at her sleeping form. It would be easier to go while she was still sleeping... He quickly scrawled a note, and left it on the bedside table. The note read:

"Sachi, I'm sorry to have to leave you like this, but it will be easier this way. I'll return, and when I do I hope to find you waiting for me. Naruto is to look after you while I'm away. I love you. -Gaara"

He took one final glance at her before heading out the door, off to rendezvous with his team.

Sachi stirred momentarily, the sunlight pouring through the window to hit her directly in the face. Her nose scrunched as she rolled over, only to find the other side of the bed empty. Once her sleep-clouded mind had registered Gaara's absence, she shot upwards into a sitting position to scan the room. Nothing. She stood from the bed and scooped up her discarded clothes that lay on the floor, quickly putting them on. Within moments her silver gaze found the small note. She couldn't help but read it over and over, a few stray tears beginning to gather behind her eyes. In the days following, she had no doubt she would be as miserable as she could get, because she knew that she'd be constantly worrying for his safety.

* * *

A few days later, the group was crouched in the trees, spying on a Sound nin camp. Sasuke kept shooting Gaara glaring looks, and Gaara knew Sasuke hated him, so it wouldn't surprise him if he tried to kill him and blame it on the enemy. Ino had found out where the Sound's main army camp was, and soon they started off to the location, coming to where they were now. Gaara frowned, trying to think of a way to get in unnoticed as he sat high in the tree, Ino at the base of it acting as ground lookout.

Sakura shifted slightly on the branch in which she perched, still staring off towards the camp with a look of detached concentration. There had to be some way to infiltrate the Sound base without going noticed, and she was determined to find it. With her logic, it made the most sense to send in one or more of the others, seeing as it would be pretty difficult to disguise a young, pink haired kunoichi among the burlier, scruffy looking Sound nin. There were a few ideas floating around in her mind, but she wasn't sure if they'd be foolproof enough to actually work.

Gaara finally hopped down and looked up at Sakura, silently telling her to do the same. Sasuke leaned against the tree, wearing his usual uncaring look. Gaara shot a warning look at Ino when she made a small noise. Quickly she shut up, looking scolded. Gaara began to quietly propose his plan. "I can see only one way of getting this done. I, with one other, will create a distraction. Then the two that are left will get inside, and seek out the missing Nin." He said, arms folded across his chest.

Sakura pushed herself from the branch, trying her best to cushion the fall without making too much of a disturbance. Upon hearing Gaara's proposition, she nodded in approval and took a step forward. "I'll be the other distracter." She supplied, and without waiting for the others agreement she reached down into her weapons pouch, feeling around for a moment to confirm what supplies she had before withdrawing her hand and taking another step forward.

Gaara looked at her silently, nodding curtly in approval. Sasuke made a scoffing noise. "Your plan is suicide." He said, with a small smirk that Gaara caught. "You will be outnumbered." Gaara gave a low warning growl, "It's all we've got. Sakura and I shall head to the front gate and announce ourselves. You and Ino must wait out of sight and sneak in once we have them fully distracted." Ino nodded, and Sasuke finally giving the smallest of nods, though Gaara had a feeling he was glad to see the red-head in more danger.

Brushing a lock of hair that had been plastered to her face, Sakura stood back to shoot another glance towards where the Sound camp gates would be. "Be careful Sasuke-kun." She chimed in quietly before turning to the side to address Gaara. "Ready?" she questioned seriously, waiting for him to take the lead.

Gaara nodded, patting Ino on the shoulder. He dashed off for the main gate, a few guards already shouting and firing a few arrows at him. Gaara dodged and skidded to a halt in front of the gate. "Are you ready?" He whispered, his sand rustled and exploded from its confinement, bursting forth through the front gate. Gaara took joy in the screams that followed, his strange grin spreading over his face. He charged ahead and into the mass of sound ninja that awaited him, nothing but the battle on his mind. Ino glanced at Sasuke, "You ready?" she asked quietly, poised to dash towards the wall of the would-be fortress. Sasuke nodded and they were soon dashing over the wall, the Sound nin too busy to notice.

With her head lowered, Sakura darted after him. In one swift movement she reached down to remove a handful of large kunai. Her accuracy wasn't one hundred percent, but it was apparently good enough, as she took notice of it once the metal weapons embedded themselves into the chests of three nearby nin. The sound of a single arrow whizzing past her left shoulder made her spin around, and she used one of the remaining kunai to deflect the next one. With her back to Gaara, she worked on defending herself along with picking them off, one by one.

* * *

Ino and Sasuke were able to sneak down in to the dungeons, both of them having to take out a few guards as they went. There they found two of the missing nin from Konoha. They were weak, but were able to tell them the others had been killed, and that they all best get out, because Orochimaru was on his way there. Ino and Sasuke got them out and safely into the trees before Sasuke whistled loudly.

Gaara heard the signal and quickly began to block the Sound nin with a wall of sand. He pushed Sakura ahead of him towards the open gate. "Go! Hurry, I'll be right behind you." He said, working on keeping the sand wall up.

Giving a rather loud growl of frustration, Sakura turned to look at Gaara in an unsure manner before nodding and moving to head out. "Be careful!" she shouted over her shoulder, and then she was gone, running as fast as she could towards the forest line without getting hit by any stray arrows. In the back of her mind, she hoped he wouldn't turn around and do something reckless, for Sachi's sake. As soon as she crossed past the first few trees, she joined the others to get caught up on what happened.

Gaara was about to send a sand wave crashing over the attacking nin when his sand began to fight his control. It seemed afraid of something, and Gaara even tried to pull it back.

Then a strong wind blew and Gaara was knocked back, his gourd busting open and his sand lying lifelessly on the ground. A strange laugh broke out as the wind stopped. Gaara knew that laugh and suddenly became afraid.

It was Orochimaru, and he was standing over Gaara grinning evilly. "Gaara of the Sand. You're more foolish than I thought." He said, his voice sending shivers down Gaara's spine.

He saw Orochimaru reach for him, and soon everything went dark.

* * *

Sakura was growing rather restless while she waiting with the others, all of them gathered a little ways into the forest, yet still on the edge of the camp. The sooner they distanced themselves away from the Sound nin, the sooner they could alert the Hokage to what had taken place. But even if they were safe for the moment, she decided it wouldn't hurt to remove a few more kunai just in case.

Ino was getting nervous, "Where is he?" She mumbled, pacing. Sasuke said nothing but soon a loud voice rang out. "I know you are out there!" Came Orochimaru's voice, "Who will come and take your brave captain from me?" His laughter followed. Ino jumped and gasped, sending a frightened glance towards Sakura. Sasuke stood, "It's a trap." He said.

Orochimaru's voice rang out again, "Come take him, and a message for your village. And I will let you go, for now."

Sakura's eyes widened and a curse slipped from her mouth as she stood. Fear and worry washed over her, and she kicked at the ground.

"What do you think we should do?" It wasn't aimed at a specific person, but rather to both Ino and Sasuke. She knew Sasuke would most likely want to leave Gaara, but that would also mean leaving a comrade behind. Her gaze scanned over towards Ino as she returned the worried look. Something in her gut told her that no matter what they decided, the result wouldn't be good.

Sasuke stood, hefting one of the injured missing nin onto his shoulder. "We leave him." He said looking at Ino, who only shook her head. "I'm going out for him. You two can leave if you want... but I promised I would look out for him." She said, and without another word, she turned and walked out of the forest.

Outside of the front gate stood Orochimaru, Gaara at his feet. Blood was pooled around Gaara's head, his sand moving in weak waves around him. Ino could see that his sand armor was broken, and she ran to him. She picked him up with a little difficulty and shot a terrified look up at Orochimaru, who smirked. "Go ahead, take him, but know this. My army will be fully ready in a month's time, tell your village to prepare. I will be coming then." Ino nodded and ran with Gaara back to the group quickly.

Having no time to react, Sakura sent Sasuke a troubled look before making her way out of the trees. By that time Ino was returning, and she met the blonde-haired girl half way. When her sight fell on Gaara's battered body, she cringed and rushed forward, attempting to help Ino transport him. "What happened?" she questioned roughly, already sizing up the wounds. It came as a slight surprise that Orochimaru had actually let them escape, but that had to mean there was some sort of catch.

Ino was panting and almost frantic. "We have to get back… now! He said they will be coming in a month's time with a full army." She told her as Sasuke and his charge came into view. He wore a scowl and said nothing as he turned and sprinted off towards Konoha.

Ino looked at Sakura, "If you'll help me get him onto my back, I can get him there. You'll have to get the other."

Another curse escaped from Sakura as she wasted no time in helping to place Gaara on Ino's back carefully without injuring him any further. Once they were set, she darted back into the trees to find the other missing nin, being just as careful with him as she managed to get him onto her back with some trouble. She made some last minute adjustments so that he wouldn't fall off on their return journey, before pushing a small amount of chakra to her feet and jumping onto a nearby tree branch to catch up with the others.

--

AN: That chapter was a bit shorter than the other ones as well, but I can tell you that they'll get longer. As always, thank you all so much for the reviews and feedback. They are much appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Alright, this next chapter is when everything begins to kick up a bit. As both of us have said, "Yay for drama." I hope you enjoy it, thanks again for sticking with us. :D

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was almost a week after Gaara and his team had left on their mission. Naruto had taken Sachi out to dinner at his favorite place… the Ramen bar. He was scooping noodles into his mouth like a non-stop steam engine. Soon he finished and placed his empty bowl on top of a pile of three already empty bowls.

In between small bites of ramen, Sachi would glance over at Naruto with contained amusement since at the moment he appeared to be some sort of bottomless pit.

In the past week that Gaara had been gone she had to admit she was grateful for Naruto's company. He tried his best to keep her distracted, and for the most part it worked. Though even she noticed the slight downturn in her normally bright attitude, it seemed her mind was always focused on just one person.

Once she had swallowed another mouthful of the noodles, she sat back and gave the blonde a half-smile. "Thanks for taking me out to dinner tonight, Naruto. I appreciate it."

Naruto giggled and grinned, "Hee, I don't mind at all Sachi. I should be thanking you!" He was now done with his multiple bowls of the soup, and he too sat back. Inside he was worried about Gaara and wondered why he and the others had not yet returned, but he was supposed to look out for Sachi, not worry.

Her smile spread slightly, taking comfort somewhat that despite everything, Naruto had such an outgoing attitude, finding positives in every negative. Once she couldn't eat any more, she turned away from the bowl entirely to face him. "I don't see how you never get tired of ramen." She commented, recalling that nearly every day she had been with him he seemed to eat it.

Naruto laughed, "What can I say? My mom used to make it for me all the time." he told her, grinning.

Just then there was a commotion outside, and people running for the village gate. There was also a score of nurses passing by with three stretchers. Shouting and yelling penetrated the silence for a moment, and then all was quiet.

A worried expression flitted across Sachi's face as she looked over at Naruto before standing up. "What was that?" Her question hung in the air, and part of her was afraid to find out the answer due to how frantic the people rushing by appeared. She had taken notice of the nurses, and that only caused even more reason for concern. Even as she continued to send nervous glances to her friend, Sachi stepped forward to look outside. From what she could tell, people were gathered in a large cluster a small ways down the street from them near the forest, yelling and rushing about.

Naruto for once became serious. "Sachi, why don't you stay here? I'll go and check it out." He said, giving her a small smile before walking out the door. As soon as he was down the street a ways he started running, finally pushing his way through the crowd to see Ino, Sakura and Sasuke.

Ino was panting and flushed in the face, leaning down on her knees. Sasuke and Sakura looked like they were in a hurry to get to the Hokage as they made their way around the mass of people. Then Naruto saw the once missing nin being carried to the hospital. He stepped forward in time to see Gaara being loaded onto a stretcher. The sand ninja's head was wrapped crudely, blood visible as it seeped through the cloth. His body was still... but even when injured his presence commanded respect.

Having no room to really argue with him, Sachi stepped back inside as Naruto hurried down the street. A sort of tension hung in the air. A gut instinct told her that the situation was going downhill fast; that something bad had happened. Her heart rate increased as the seconds and minutes rolled by, and her stomach felt to be in knots. She experienced a tempting pull in her mind and she wanted so badly to follow after Naruto to see what was going on. But he had told her to stay there, and it would be best to honor his wish.

Naruto ran ahead of Gaara's escort, pausing in front of Sachi. He gave her a short nod, "You might want to come with me now." he said, "But you must promise to let them take care of him, and don't get in their way." He knew he wouldn't have to explain who he was talking about as immediately afterwards the nurses and medical staff passed by, carrying Gaara towards the hospital as quickly as possible without jarring his injuries. Ino followed closely, looking to be on the brink of tears. She saw Sachi and pushed Naruto aside as she rushed to hug her.

At his words Sachi nodded numbly, her mind being unable to register what he had said for a moment. But immediately afterwards when it did, something flashed through her eyes and panic set in. "What happened?" she questioned almost frantically as she was hugged. By now the stretcher carrying Gaara had passed, giving her a glimpse of his still form. Something seemed to overtake her, and she struggled out of Ino's embrace to follow after them, restrained tears already welling in her eyes.

Ino watched her go and slipped to the ground, tears flowing and her head in her hands. Naruto put a hand on her shoulder, "It's not your fault; it was his decision. He was your captain." Ino sent him a sharp look, "He still is." Naruto nodded slowly before turning to follow Sachi.

* * *

The medic crew reached the hospital in a few minutes, rushing him inside. Quickly they got him into a room and began to assess the extent of his injuries. Naruto had just gotten in the door when one of them pushed him out, "Quickly! Fetch the Hokage, now!" Naruto was confused but ran swiftly to the Hokage, explaining that they needed her at the hospital. Sasuke and Sakura were there, and all of them rushed back to the hospital, the Hokage going straight to where Gaara was.

Hot tears were now flowing freely down her face, brushing past her cheeks before being discarded to the tiled hospital floor below. Sachi didn't know how badly he was hurt, but it was evident that it was critical once she heard the summoning of the Hokage was required. Right before they had taken him into the room, she had seen blood; lots of it, around his head and face as well as a few stray blotches here and there. Her stomach felt like it would implode on itself at any moment, and she felt nauseated to a point of having to lean against the nearby wall. A sense of uselessness crept up as well from the knowledge that she could do nothing to help him, instead only waiting anxiously outside the room and hoping for a miracle.

Naruto and Sasuke were standing against the wall while Sakura was pacing, looking irritated.

The Hokage worked constantly. She had to rid Gaara of the crude bandages, mopping up the blood before beginning to work on his head wounds. It appeared that Orochimaru had done substantial damage to his nerves. She had to be careful not to damage them further as she worked on healing the deep gash on the back of his head and his forehead.

After hours of working, the Hokage opened the door, looking tired and pale. She talked with the nurses, "I can do no more. It's up to him now, if he doesn't fall into a coma." She told them grimly. She motioned to Sasuke and Sakura to come with her as she left. The two did so, Sakura giving Sachi a quick hug before she went.

In the hours beforehand, Sachi had taken a somewhat curled up position against the wall closest to the room. Her knees were pulled up with her arms wrapped tightly around them so that her chin could rest on the edge of her knees. Her eyes had become red and irritated, having run out of tears an hour or so ago, and every once in a while she would emit a small sniffle, and then shift her position slightly, restlessly.

She had kept telling herself that Gaara was okay, that he would recover soon. That she could wrap her arms around him once again and they'd go back to how it used to be, just the two of them. But her resolve faltered when she looked up to see the Hokage emerge from the room, a whole new sort of fear taking over as she began to tremble again. Hastily standing up, she shot Naruto, the only other person now remaining a frightened glance.

A nurse paused on her way through the hallway to glance at Sachi. "You can go in and see him, if you want." She said softly, hating to see the girl in such a state. Naruto was still sleeping, and even gave out a rather ridiculous sounding snore.

"…Thank you." Her voice was rather dry sounding, almost scratchy from the hours of crying and waiting in worry. She walked to the door, her footsteps feeling almost weighed down as she silently slipped through the entrance. Once she was in the room her breath hitched, and an almost inaudible squeak of shock escaped.

His bright red hair was what drew her attention to him, as always. The nurses must have cleaned up most of the blood, making him look a bit better than he had, though not by much. Newfound tears threatened to fall as she made her way over to him, taking note of his sickly appearance; his paler than usual skin, the way he was breathing, and the small spots of leftover dried blood that the nurses most likely had no time to remove.

Lee walked into the hospital, having heard from Ino what happened. He gave Naruto a glance and shook his head as he peeked into Gaara's room. He frowned slightly, "I am sorry Sachi, I do not mean to disturb you. I only wish to see how he is doing." Lee said nervously and he gingerly stepped into the room. He gazed at Gaara for a while before speaking again. "I fought him once, in a test battle. He is very strong." he said quietly. Then Lee noticed something, and he looked confused. "His sand armor… It's completely gone."

Sachi didn't look up as Lee approached, only nodding in response as her throat felt somewhat constricted. It was strange how it felt like there was some sort of spell that had only been cast on her, so that she was unable to tear her gaze away from Gaara for more than a few split seconds. But Lee was right; his sand armor was no longer covering him.

"Why do you think it's gone now?" she asked with a hint of difficulty, and again she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to know the answer. Slowly, almost hesitantly, her hand reached out to brush against Gaara's arm. She had waited nearly a week to see him, to touch him again, but she never would have hoped for it to end up like this. Not here in a poorly lit gloomy hospital room, with him laying in a bed fighting for his life while she sat there helplessly.

Lee came closer to Gaara, looking over him carefully. "Ino had said that his gourd was broken beyond repair, and his sand lost. But that would not cause his armor to melt." He said thoughtfully, his arms folded as he wracked his brain. "I do believe Orochimaru did more than injure his body. He might have affected his chakra, and his umbilical-like relationship with sand." Lee looked back at her, "I shall see if I can find and fetch Neji. With his sight… He should be able to detect any differentials in Gaara's chakra flow." He bowed to Sachi and left the room rather quickly.

She was a bit surprised that Lee had come up with the assumption as quickly as he had, but it certainly made sense. However, if Gaara had somehow lost his control over sand, he would be losing most of his methods for defense as well as offense. Lee was gone before she could even say anything, appearing as determined as he always did whenever a task was set before him. Sachi sighed and reached behind her to latch onto a nearby chair and drag it next to the bedside before flopping onto the lumpy cushion. A rough night lay ahead of them both.

It took Lee an hour to find Neji, and another half an hour to convince him to help. But when Lee came back it was with Neji in tow. Lee carefully explained what Ino had told him about the mission while Neji simply stood with a deep scowl on his face, looking Gaara over. He did not even seem to notice Sachi there.

When Lee was done Neji moved closer to Gaara's bedside. His eyes closed for a moment before reopening with a strange lack of color. His face was hard as he scanned over the limp Sand nin. It was a while before he stepped back, his eyes going back to their normal state. He nodded to Lee, "It is as you thought. A few of his chakra veins have been severed. Orochimaru knew what he was doing… He will not die, but he will not be able to use sand."

Sachi merely sat in the chair in the same curled up position as before, observing Neji's every action like a hawk. The hand that was still resting on Gaara's arm seized up for a second before going completely still again. "…Besides that, c-can you tell if he's going to be okay?" She quietly asked the male Hyuuga, stuttering slightly. Even the tone in her voice sounded as if it was quivering, much like the rest of her body was. If Gaara lived through this, she couldn't imagine how he would take the news. To her knowledge he had been able to use the sand his entire life, so what would become of him once he no longer had that?

Neji paused at the door, not bothering to turn around to speak. "…I cannot be sure, nor do I know how he will react to this once he awakens." He left, not wishing to be around Gaara or the others any longer, still having a bit of a grudge against the Sand nin.

Lee's face was unreadable as he walked to the window of the small room. He looked out, almost appearing lost. After a while he turned to Sachi. "Please do not worry yourself too much. I am sure that one as strong as Gaara will make a speedy recovery."

She gave a troubled sigh and leaned forward to press her face into her knees. "Thank you, Lee." Her reply was half muffled from the position she was in, but it was hopefully loud enough for the green jumpsuit-clad boy to hear her. This was too much for her, just sitting here not knowing if the one she had shared so much with would live or die. Despite every reassurance that had been made by those she knew, there was still the one part of her that feared the worst would happen. And then there was another miniscule part of her that had developed the deep, rarely seen emotion of hate towards Orochimaru and the Sound nin surfaced.

Lee smiled slightly, "It is the least I can do for you, and Gaara-san." He said, sitting in another chair at the foot of the bed. It was getting dark outside and many of the other visitors had left the hospital.

As the night wore on, all was quiet. Gaara did not stir at all and made no sound. Lee got up to fetch a blanket for Sachi, coming over to cover her up and went back to his chair.

The silence was unnerving, but Sachi soon became lost in her thoughts, though her hand still remained in contact with Gaara at all times. She only came out of her trance-like state when Lee presented the blanket to her, which she accepted with a small yet grateful smile before retreating back into her mind's sanctuary to think over everything that had occurred that day. A few times she became so deeply anchored into the trance that she nodded off, but only for a dozen minutes or so before re-awakening.

* * *

For days Gaara did not move and the Hokage became worried. She came by often, at least once every day to check on him. Once she heard what Lee and Neji had uncovered, her sessions with Gaara became longer. After a week and a half she found that she was unable to fix the broken chakra ties, and became busy with Gai and Kakashi as they tried to come up with the best plan for the inevitable attack that would come in only four more weeks.

Finally, Gaara began to mumble in his sleep. Lee took turns with Sachi staying awake to watch him, though they were unable to tell what he was saying. When Gaara awoke for the first time since being rushed to the hospital, it did not appear he knew where he was. He sat up, looking around as if something was missing.

Much like she had been for the past week or so, Sachi lay curled up in the ratty old chair, constantly slipping between being awake and asleep. Her arm had been resting along the side of the hospital bed, and it was the movement of the mattress that alerted her to his consciousness. Though her muscles were tensed up and sore, she nearly sprang up when the realization hit her. "Gaara! You're awake…" She wasn't shouting, but her tone was loud enough to sense the evident surprise in her voice. Her eyes teared up and she watched him with a concerned unwavering gaze, looking for any sign that something was wrong.

Gaara didn't respond, and sat still as if waiting for something. He then looked around slowly, "...Where is she?" He asked softly at first, the words slowly tumbling out. Then his voice rose, "Where is she?!" he cried out. His breath became ragged and Lee jumped up from his chair, finally woken up. He looked worriedly at Gaara and came closer, just as Gaara began to hit the bed with his fists.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" He screamed and at least three nurses came running into the room. Lee had to hold Gaara down as he yelled, and once a nurse had given him a shot of a slight sedative he became calm within five minutes.

His breathing was still ragged, but he lay still so that Lee could let go of him. Then Lee spoke slowly, "Gaara, do you remember what happened? You were on a mission to distract the Sound, when Orochimaru attacked you. He severed a few of your chakra veins… And crushed your sand's gourd."

Tears began forming in Gaara's eyes, though he did not move. So Lee continued, "Because of what he did, you won't be able to call upon your sand… Or your armor." The tears began flowing from Gaara's eyes, his body shaking with silent sobs. "No… Mother..." He wept, and then his eyes closing as he curled up, tears falling even from his tightly shut eyes. In all the world, his sand had been the only thing Gaara was convinced loved him. It had been there after his mother died, and to him, became his mother. His loss could not be put into words.

The sight that she was greeted with seemed to break Sachi's heart in two. She had assumed he would take the devastating news like this, but she never guessed it would actually hurt her, to see him in so much agony. With hesitation in her movement, she stepped up to the bedside and knelt down slightly, so that she was more level with him. If her teeth hadn't been latched onto her lower lip, it would have been trembling slightly as she shot an unsure look at Lee.

When she could stand it no longer, she reached a hand out cautiously and placed it on the red-heads back, moving it in small calming circles as she gave a quiet sniffle.

Gaara tensed, holding his breath for a moment. He turned his head to look at her, his eyes wide like a frightened child's, tears pausing for a moment. He finally seemed to register who she was and the tears began again as he flung his arms around her middle and his face buried into her chest.

The nurses left, most of them tearing up. Lee backed away slowly. He was amazed at how Gaara crumbled at the loss... but then he thought of himself in this situation, and it did not seem like such rash behavior. He quietly left the room, standing in the hallway should he be needed. But he knew better than to be in there right now. Gaara needed Sachi, and Lee didn't want to be in the way.

The embrace seemed to calm her momentarily, and she couldn't stop a smile from slipping onto her face, the first one she had displayed in days. "I thought I lost you." She whispered as she rested her chin in the crook of his neck. A single tear slid down her cheek and she gave him as tight of a hug that she could manage without causing any more injuries. "Please don't ever make me go through that again." She half pleaded, half joked as another tear followed the same path that the first had made.

Gaara nodded slightly, or it could have been that he was just nuzzling his face further into her chest. He felt broken, lost. "S-Sachi." He said, looking up at her. "...S-Sachi… I'm... I'm useless now." He said, his voice cracking a bit at the word 'useless'. He was shaking slightly, the very air felt different without his armor... It wasn't something he was used to feeling. He felt weak, sure his own strength was practically back, but when he tried to call his sand to him- there was nothing. No rustle, no sounds inside his head. He felt alone.

Sachi's eyes clenched shut at his words, which only made her hug him tighter to her. "You can't say that… You're not useless. We'll… We'll figure something out, don't worry…" she assured in a whisper. But even she could detect the troubled, vaguely desperate tone to her voice. She tried to tell herself that he could find another way to fight as a shinobi, but learning specific skills took months, even years, and they didn't have that time… not with the approaching war. A fresh, almost burning hatred for Orochimaru himself resurfaced. When the time came she'd fight in the war and do everything in her power to kill as many Sound nin as she possibly could.

Gaara sensed her anger and grasped her hand, looking sharply at her. "You will not go anywhere near him… Nor will you fight in the oncoming battle." He said sternly. He sat straighter, his eyes flashing. "He will not have a chance to lay a hand on you." He let go of her hand and pulled away, his fists clenched tightly.

* * *

Away in Lady Hokage's chambers, Kakashi had come up with a plan. "Tsunade, I believe we should evacuate who we can… Women, children, and those unable to fight."

Gai nodded, "Yes. My team and yours can join up and hold off the army. I am sure that we could deplete their numbers harshly."

The Hokage looked thoughtful, "I am afraid that's the only choice we have. I cannot let the whole village suffer." She stood from behind her desk. "We will evacuate in two days… That will give me time to decide on a place to take everyone."

* * *

Her eyes peeked open, and she gave what sounded like a childish huff. "But I have to fight, for the village. I can't just let the Sound get away with everything they did…" Determination shone in her eyes as her stubborn side seemed to take over. "Besides, it's not likely that I'll see him…" Now she was simply making up excuses, because in truth she had no way of telling if she would come in contact with the vile Sound nin leader or not. Sachi could understand why he didn't want her to participate in the war, but she needed to. It was almost as if she had unfinished business with them.

Gaara knew how to win this argument. He folded his arms and looked away. "...If you fight in this war, I will never forgive you." He said it curtly and with subtle force. He had to make sure she had just as good a reason not to fight.

Softly he let out a pained sigh, "I could not stand to lose you. You're all I have left." by now his head was hurting and he felt tired again.

Lee came to the door, his face serious. "I am most sorry to disturb you, but I have important news." He stood tall and did his best to be brave as he began to relate all of what Gai had told him. "The Hokage has decided to evacuate the village. Two teams, led by Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei will stay and protect the village. Those who are to leave are women and children… and those unable to fight." He said the last part in an apologetic tone.

Sachi's face seemed to fall almost comically, as she knew he had made his point and defeated her. "Fine…" She pouted slightly, though her mind was still desperately trying to think of some sort of loophole… There was none.

As if to re-enforce the fact, Lee entered the room to inform them of the Hokage's decision. Now there really was no way out of it, but she still found a great amount of comfort in knowing that Gaara wouldn't be in harm's way now either. She gave a longing glance towards her bow and quiver, which had been removed from her shoulders and placed on the floor opposite of the chair long ago, before turning back to the two.

Gaara nodded to Lee, "... I wish you luck." He said solemnly.

Lee beamed, "I always do my best!" He said enthusiastically, making a deep bow.

Gaara looked thoughtful, "I would expect no less from one of Gai-sensei's students." Lee seemed to glow at his words, taking the praise to heart. He bowed to Sachi and again to Gaara, "I wish you luck as well, Gaara-san." He smiled and left. Gaara looked out the window, a far away look on his face.

As the door that Lee had exited closed, Sachi directed her attention back to Gaara. So much had happened in such a small amount of time, and there was no doubt in her mind that he was overwhelmed at the moment. "You know… if a nurse comes in she's probably going to start fussing at you about getting your rest. You sure you don't want to sleep for a bit?" She asked quietly as she shifted onto the very edge of the bed. As much as she hated the fact that she sounded just as bad as a nagging nurse, he really needed to get his strength back up for the approaching evacuation.

Gaara shook his head and turned to sit with his legs over the side of the bed. "I do not wish to stay here any longer." He said quietly. Standing up slowly, he stood shakily at first, and then began to walk out of the room. He paused at the door, "I'm going… home." He said, glancing back at Sachi. His eyes were sad, for he realized he would be lucky to come back and find his home intact.

Sachi was tempted to insist on him laying back down, but she refrained. He would probably be most comfortable in his home anyways, but even so, the look he had given her was heart-wrenching. Quickly pushing herself from the bed, she clumsily strapped her bow and quiver back over her shoulders before hurrying after him. She stood next to him, watching his every move and ready to help him in case he were to stumble or trip. "Would you like some time alone…?" she asked in a hesitant voice, the back of her mind arguing that he may need time to think, and it wouldn't be good for her to be practically buzzing around him.

Gaara didn't reply, but stared off into space. "…You can come with, if you'd like." He said finally, rather stiffly. He started down the hall, walking straighter with every step until he was walking normally. It seemed he was on autopilot, not paying much attention to anything around him. More than twice people had to dart out of his way because he would not walk around them.

She bit her lip again as he began to walk, unsure if she should really follow him. He seemed to be in some sort of trance, and of course she wanted to come with, but would that really be the best thing?

After a few seconds of hesitation, her heart won over her mind, and she began to trail behind him at a slow pace. Worry flashed through her eyes briefly at how he was moving, but she remained quiet, merely walking five or so feet behind him while he headed towards his house.

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AN: Ta-daa. Well thanks to summer, I'll probably have the next chapter up pretty quickly since I have so much free time on my hands. Thanks for reading. (:


	6. Chapter 6

Ah! I'm so sorry for not updating as soon as I said I would, I've been busy for preparation of school starting next week, and apparently I'm too lazy for my own good. Hopefully the bit of drama in this chaper will make it up.

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Gaara stopped in front of his house, staring blankly at it. He was about to walk up the stairs when Kankuro walked out the first story's front door.

With his hood pulled up and his face paint on, Kankuro gasped when he saw his brother. "G-Gaara, I uh...didn't know you would be out so soon." He said, uneasiness in his voice. Gaara looked at him and Kankuro froze.

"...And why would I not be?" Gaara asked. His voice was in monotone, void of any emotion.

Kankuro shook his head in earnest, "No reason. I j-just...I'm glad you're well." At that Kankuro bowed quickly and shot Sachi a warning glance before walking briskly down the road.

Gaara turned and went up the stairs to the second story, opening the door and simply standing there, looking in.

Sachi huffed and sent an uneasy look towards the retreating back of Kankuro, pausing momentarily before following Gaara up the stairs. She stood next to him for a mere few seconds before cautiously stepping through the doorway. It didn't look like it had changed since she had last been in there a week or so ago. Even when she had stayed there while he was on the mission, she hadn't moved anything of his around. And in the days she had resided there his scent still remained, one of the only things that had kept her somewhat comforted in his absence.

Gaara walked in slowly, the door closing behind him. He looked around and began to go through all the rooms, looking as if he was seeing them for the first time. He came to a stop in his room.

Soundlessly, he sat on his bed for a moment before leaning down to pick up a picture frame that was upside down on the floor, turning it over and looked at it. There he was as a small child, his mother standing behind him, looking so proud.

That was the day he received his gourd, it had been hand carved by an elder in the Sand Village. He had his arms folded proudly across his chest, though a smile lit his face. He hadn't parted with his gourd since then… Not even when he was used to cage the demon.

After his mother had died he took out his loss and anger in training, and made this extremely hard for such a young boy.

Gaara gritted his teeth and threw the frame at the wall; the glass shattered and the broken frame fell to the floor.

With her back turned away from him and facing the door at the time, a startled yelp slipped out of her as she spun around, looking for the source of the noise with wide, frightened eyes. She immediately saw the fragments of the broken picture frame, along with the small shards of glass now scattered across the floor.

Noiselessly, as if she was afraid of disturbing something she made her way over to him, stopping five feet away from the bed's edge. "Gaara…? Are you alright?" It was a pointless and stupid question. Of course he wasn't 'alright', he had just lost something dear to him that he had been with for most of his life. Her head bowed as she took another smaller hesitant step closer, finding herself for the first time unable to decide what else to say.

Gaara did not respond; he was too busy listening to a voice in his head… One all too recognizable. "Gaara, Gaara, Gaara… When will you listen? Let me out... Come now boy! You yourself can see you're weak now. How else do you expect to fight? Or get your abilities back?" The demon in him taunted, and Gaara stood. A sort of shadow came over his face and his movements became slow, as if he was half asleep. His breathing became raspy and rough sounding as he stood there.

The atmosphere in the room- the actual air surrounding them seemed to change. It felt more sinister and heavy, as if something was pressing down on her as she stood there.

Noticing the lack of response Sachi turned back to Gaara, immediately seeing his actions and expression.

Her mind immediately registered that something was wrong and without thinking, she stepped up to him, gingerly grabbing onto his upper arm. "Gaara… What's going on? What's wrong?" the words tumbled out frantically and a pleading expression overtook her face.

Gaara looked up and grinned, letting out a laugh that wasn't his.  
"Are you really so clueless, girl?!" A strange voice spoke instead of Gaara's that seemed to resonate and echo off of nothing.

Gaara's arm rose sharply, sending Sachi flying onto the floor. The strange cackle came from him again as he took a step forward.

That voice… There was no way it belonged to Gaara. It sent tremors down her spine, and made her hair stand on end. "Wha-" Sachi began to reply but got cut off as her body was sent backwards, landing roughly on the floor. This couldn't be Gaara; he'd never do what he was doing now, right? Her mind reeled in confusion as she stiffly tried to get back onto her feet, but she completely froze when the realization slammed into her.

"…The demon." She whispered, her eyes going wide again as that ever-familiar look of a deer caught in headlights appeared on her face.

"Now you're catching on!" The demon laughed, Gaara's mouth open in a loud spine-tingling cackle once again.

The demon stooped to get a better look at her, "I see why he has such a liking for you, girl. You might be slow, but rather… delicious looking." The demon grinned widely as Gaara's tongue crept out to lick his lips.

His words caused a second rather violent shudder to run along the length of her spine, shaking her to the very core.

In an almost frantic manner, she scooted backwards until her hands came in contact with a wall. She felt trapped, not unlike a caged mouse as she unsteadily shifted herself into a standing position, eyeing 'Gaara' the whole time.  
"…What did you do to him?" her breathing was becoming more erratic by the minute, and no matter how hard she tried to suppress her fear, it seemed to show through.

'Gaara' eyed her and shifted to look over his host's body. "Hmm? Oh, the boy? Don't worry... He's screaming away... A prisoner as I was for so long." He took a few steps slowly toward her, his eerie grin growing wider with every step. "You shouldn't be so worried about him right now."

Sachi lowered her head, staring at the creature that inhabited Gaara's body. This was why he always had believed himself a monster, and now she could see why. There was no doubt in her mind that the demon's mere presence was enough to send a group of grown Jonin running.

She took a step back, trying to keep herself firmly against the wall as her hand inched up and over her shoulder, fingers brushing against the tip of her bow. "Let him go. You no longer have your control over sand…" she challenged, her tone anything but threatening.

'Gaara' started to laugh, "Oh, you are slow… Do you think that Orochimaru could have severed the chakra ties on his own? He cannot see them… but having been trapped in this stupid body, I know their every hiding place." He flexed his hand, glancing down at one arm briefly before he looked back up at her with a wild look in those now hateful eyes.  
"I can place them back whenever I please."

* * *

Outside, Sasuke felt a strange aura coming from Gaara's house. Stopping in the street, he looked up carefully at it. Then he gave a small half smile and walked away…

* * *

Sachi gave a confused half-pleading look as what he had said registered in her already overloaded mind.  
"You're a vile, wicked being." The angered tone laced into her voice came out louder than expected, though when she spoke again she was quiet.  
"Tell me, can demons feel pain when their host is injured?" She tried her best to remove all emotion from her voice. Her hand finally unlatched her bow, and in one fluid movement she brought the weapon back over her shoulder. Next she went for an arrow, before staring the figure straight in the eyes with an unsaid threat.  
All she had to do… was pray that he wouldn't call her bluff.

'Gaara' laughed again, "Would you hurt your darling lover, girl? Would you kill him... to kill me? Tell me, are you brave enough?" He took a step closer with each sentence, until the last one was whispered into her ear.

* * *

The real Gaara was trying hard to fight the control of the demon, but he had planned this… and Gaara found it impossible to break his hold. He only hoped that Sachi and the others would do what was right and get rid of the monster... and put him out of his misery.

* * *

Luck obviously wasn't with her on this unfortunate day. The hand that had been holding the bow lowered slowly to her side as she clenched her teeth, now refusing to look at him.

She could feel his breath brushing against the side of her face, and it seemed that the warmth that Gaara's body had always brought was no longer present.

He was right… The one act that she had to do to stop him, she couldn't yet bring herself to commit... There had to be another way. Did that make her weak? Pathetic?

A tear made its way out, rolling down her cheek. As she felt it she closed her eyes, fighting to keep back any more that had a bid for freedom. She couldn't let the demon see her cry, it would only be proving how utterly weak she was.

'Gaara' smirked and licked away the tear, his tongue running along his lips again. "The taste of anguish is one to be savored." He growled out, grasping her arm painfully tight.  
"Tell me, does he treat you well? Is he gentle?" The demon prodded, "Well? Tell me girl!" He slapped he face harshly when she didn't answer.

The slap caused her head to turn sharply to the side, and she let out a squeak of fear. She could feel exactly where he had hit her, the red-hot burning sensation flourishing on one side of her face.

This time her head turned slowly to look directly at the face she knew so well, so that she was nearly nose to nose with him.  
"Yes." Her answer came out as a growl, and she could feel defiance rise up from deep within her mind.

This caused 'Gaara' to smirk again as he traced the bite that had been left from the night of their love-making.  
He grasped her hair tightly, "You'll find me to be less gentle, for sure." He rasped out before biting into the love bite harshly, drawing blood as he tore the skin.

The extra adrenaline coursing through her body combined with the pain that was now pooling near her neck caused her to cry out. She began to thrash against him, trying anything to get him off as his teeth sunk into her skin. Silver eyes flung open again when the overwhelming smell of blood reached her nostrils and she whimpered, unable to escape due to his hand clenching around her upper arm.  
A dull thud resounded around the room, signaling her bow had been discarded to the floor.

'Gaara' sucked up the blood greedily, and a strange echoing growl resonated from his body. His eyes turned blood red as he felt a hunger for more.

He bit into her shoulder next, drawing more blood as he drank it in, his hand loosening on her arm slightly as he began losing himself to blood-lust.

* * *

The real Gaara was becoming enraged as he could plainly see what the demon was doing to Sachi, **his** Sachi. He yelled and fought harder against the demon's hold.

* * *

Sachi began to tremble as the intense pain flowed towards her shoulder and she could feel the warm, metallic smelling liquid begin to trickle down her arm and neck. Her head turned away from him in disgust and she gave another weaker attempt at escaping his hold, though the defiance was long gone, only to be replaced with pure terror. Two more tears silently made a pathway down her other cheek while her breathing increased, escalating to the point of nearly gasping for air. Her fear of death was beginning to cloud her mind, making her thoughts irrational and her struggling increasing dramatically.

The demon in Gaara hissed at her and shoved her roughly to the ground.  
A strange aura was beginning to form around Gaara's body, and the demon appeared excited.  
"Soon now!" He growled out, licking the blood from his lips. He flexed his arms as they seemed to start fading, peeling from something far more hideous.

But then the demon let out a shrill scream and fell to his knees. For a moment the menacing aura was gone, and Gaara was clutching his chest and heaving.  
"…S-Sachi, hurry… I-I can't hold him for long. You h-have to take an arrow… Use all your strength…-Chakra…" The real Gaara's voice said, looking up at her.  
"You have to... Please..." He pleaded, his eyes full of pain.

Sachi looked up from her position on the ground, recognizing Gaara's voice. Not the demon's voice, the true Gaara's voice. She couldn't will herself to speak, knowing now that it really was what he wanted… It was the only way.

Choking back a sob she reached for her discarded bow, tears flowing down her face freely now as she began pushing a large amount of chakra into the tip of the arrow. She aimed it towards him, her reddened eyes met his with a desperately sorrowed look, and she focused the last bit of chakra into the weapon.  
"I'm so sorry, Gaara…" she whispered hoarsely right before releasing the arrow towards him and turning her head away, unable to watch it land a hit.

There was a loud snapping sound as the arrow hit Gaara, though his face showed no pain as he fell backwards.

An invisible wave pulsed from him and shoved Sachi backwards. There was an echoed scream from the fading demon as he was destroyed. Gaara lie still, though his body was his own again… He let out a final sigh as he passed away.

By this time the house was starting to shake violently, and Sakura came running up the steps as the ceiling began to crumble and fall.  
"Sachi! You have to get out! The building is going to fall!" The pink-haired nin paused briefly to glance at Gaara's still form, and tears came to her eyes.

"No…" Sachi shook her head harshly as she pushed herself up, immediately spotting his body. Sakura's voice seemed to be only a faint buzzing noise to her, but she had managed to catch a few words.

'Get out', 'building' and 'fall' appeared to register, and on their own accord her legs began to move towards the door, no matter how much her mind pleaded to stay… To stay with him. She vaguely wondered why her vision was so blurry, how she felt numbed to the core, and how her heart felt as if it was no longer in her chest. The loud cracking noises etched into her mind as the building began splitting apart.

Sakura put her arms around the battered girl and half carried her down the stairs and onto the safe and stable ground.

Naruto was there and took her into his arms, "We have to get you to the hospital!" He said, stating the obvious once again as he ran with her to the hospital.

Sasuke and Sakura stood watching the building crumble, Sakura crying and Sasuke standing perfectly still, unflinching. The building fell in a loud rumble, the ground shaking and dust rising high into the air.

The Hokage came to see the rubble and bowed deeply to where the house once stood. "Gaara-san was brave… I thank you for telling me Sasuke, of his last short battle with the demon." She said, standing and turning to the raven haired teen.

Kankuro was standing behind them all while Temari took off running toward the sand village.

Meanwhile, Sachi made no argument towards the blonde haired nin, somehow finding herself unable to even if she wanted. The pain in her neck seemed so dull now compared to the feeling of shock and loss that seemed to flourish within her.

She had broke out in violent sobs on the way there, and now her eyes seemed to be glazed over sightlessly as she felt the nurses tend to her. She was convinced that this was all a dream, and she'd wake up soon to find it had never happened. If only she was right…

**Twelve months later, to the day.**

Kankuro and Temari had long since gone, both leaving the day Gaara died to go back to the Sand Village.  
A Sand nin procession as well as the Kazekage came to take Gaara's body away not long after for burial in the Sand Village.

Things went on like normal… Though they had cleaned up the mess that used to be Gaara's house and the women in the village turned it into a small flower garden.

It was this day, about mid-morning, that the Hokage sent for Sachi. She had a small mission for the girl.

**...**

_A year had passed… An exact year since his death.  
_There the silver-haired female stood, in the very same spot that they had met for the very first time in the training grounds.

In the past twelve months Sachi had become a great deal calmer, no longer joking around or behaving as childishly as she had before. Her smiles came less often, and it was as if someone had suppressed her mood with a thick and heavy blanket.

Her silver gaze traveled up the trunk of the tree in which they had sat, and she reached out gingerly to place a hand on the rough bark.  
Before she could do anything else the sound of hurried footsteps reached her ears and she turned around.

A messenger boy came running through the trees quickly and approached her almost shyly as he spoke. "The… The Hokage wishes to brief you on a mission in her office." She nodded once in understanding, giving one last short glance towards the tree behind her before heading for the Hokage Tower.  
She could come back later.

* * *

The Hokage was waiting for her in her office and greeted her with a small smile. "Sachi, it is nice to see you." She began, then cleared her throat a little, "Today marks the beginning of the Sand Village's official welcoming of their new Kazekage. As their ally we have to make sure to have a hand selected nin from our village to attend. You need to pack quickly, and leave right away." She watched Sachi's reaction, knowing the girl might have a hard time accepting. "There is no backing out of this mission." The Hokage added.

This seemed to catch the expressionless girl off guard, and something unrecognizable flashed through her eyes before her face took on a deceptively calm, distant look. Why, out of all the shinobi in the village of Konohagakure, had she been chosen… to go _there, _no less?

She kept her thoughts to herself however as she gave a short bow, her throat suddenly feeling somewhat constricted. "Yes, Hokage-sama…" she murmured respectfully before turning around and heading numbly for the office door.

It had taken her no more than twenty minutes to retreat back to her house, gather all the belongings she would need for the trip and travel to the village gates in preparation for her departure. For a mere few seconds she paused to look over her shoulder towards the village. But then, with the same veiled look she had displayed in the Hokage's office, she bolted into the forest in the direction that Suna lay, forcing chakra into her feet to increase speed as she went.

--

**A/N: Well I promise that isn't the end of the story, there's plenty more to come. In the meantime while you wait for the next chapter, you get this nifty cliffhanger. Sorry!**


	7. Chapter 7

Gah! My sincere apologies for taking so long to update. The last two weeks I've been busy with the start of school, scrambling about like a chicken with its head cut off and whatnot.  
Hopefully this chapter will make up for it, but before that- I have a special author's note below from the other author of this story, Sora herself:

_"Hey everyone, I'm Sora. I have to tell ya… I'm both pleased and amazed you guys have become such avid readers of our story! And don't think I've skipped over reading the reviews you guys posted._

_Okay, to answer a popular question first: When the story starts, Gaara is 16. Lol, sorry I never made that clear! ; And second, the reason Gaara has been living in Konoha… will be revealed in a later chapter! XD I'm so mean, but that would ruin the surprise now, wouldn't it? Third, Gaara is not Kazekage… yet. XD But I'm not going to say any more on that subject, lol. _

_And lastly, some shout outs to a few reviewers! Animestar001, thanks for sticking around this whole time. And to answer your question, Sachi is about 16 in the beginning of the story.  
LadyAmazon, I thank you for your approval! And for your helpful hints and suggestions.  
Oh, and JinxedPixie… o0 I would be forever grateful, if I didn't get attacked in the future._

_In short, thanks everyone! Without great readers, a story is nothing but words. Thanks a bunch and please keep reviewing!"_

And now for a **warning- This story does contain a lemon, so please read at your own discretion.**

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The Sand village was strangely quiet in the streets, not a person could be seen. Nearly everyone was gathered in front of a very large, important-looking building. There were guards stationed at the front door and many more spread out amongst the crowd… always on the lookout for any assassins.

The villagers were loud, all talking amongst themselves. There was a tall figure on the balcony high above them cloaked in white, with the hood pulled up to hide his features. No one had seen who was directing Suna's nin forces or who was keeping the village so peaceful, after the rather sudden death of their leader one year ago. Everyone was both excited… and nervous.

* * *

It had taken her quite a while to reach Suna, but she finally arrived. Sachi kept her head lowered as she walked past the village gates, eyes flickering around her in contained curiosity as she went.  
One thing that bothered her was the sand… It was everywhere she looked, and she couldn't get away from it.

Another thing she noticed was that the people here dressed oddly, and apparently she stood out because every once and a while she would catch a villager or two shooting odd glances towards her. She managed to ignore them though, and in less than a dozen minutes she was headed towards the center of the village.

* * *

A strong built man in brightly colored robes walked out onto the balcony, hands raised to quiet the roaring crowd.  
"My people, it has been a very heart-wrenching year for us all." He said in a grave tone, and the people bowed their heads. The Minister lowered his hands and placed them on the balcony railing, "It was only a day after we laid to rest one of our most brave, if not feared nin… Gaara-san, that we lost our beloved leader as well. But it has not been in vain!"

The people made noises of uneasiness as he went on. "Over the past year we have had a new leader… Someone in the shadows, not wishing to been seen. But nonetheless, watching over us all. Now we honor him... No, ourselves, by handing over to him the official title of Kazekage!" Yet another loud roar was let loose as he raised his hands again.

Sachi darted down a deserted side street, and on the other end of the alley she caught sight of the growing crowd. As quickly as possible she moved closer, looking up to the balcony just in time to see an older man who appeared to be giving a speech.

She listened intently, until a single word, a single name caught her attention. Her eyes widened and she felt the same constriction in her throat as she had in the Hokage's office. The crowd cheered around her as she stared blankly at the ground, now wanting this to be over with as quickly as possible so that she could leave.

The Minister waited until the crowd had quieted down before speaking again.  
"Our beloved leader performed one last act of goodness, indecently **causing** her death... but it was for the greater good of Suna. In her own words, she believed it to be her one and only good act… and was truly happy in her crossing."

The white cloaked figure stepped from behind the large curtain, standing just to the side of the Minister. "I am proud to introduce, or in his case, welcome back… Gaara-sama, Kazekage!" At this the tall figure reached up and removed his hood, allowing light to fall on his features. There stood Gaara, once thought to be dead. He was taller now, looking no worse for the wear. He looked over the mass of villagers, no emotion showing on his face as he bowed politely to the crowd.

Sachi nearly choked, and her head snapped up so quickly she was surprised it hadn't broken. Her eyes studied the figure for a moment, in shock and fearful that she was perhaps hallucinating.

No… It really was him. She blinked back the all too familiar hot tears that threatened to spill from her eyes as her breath seemed to become trapped in her lungs, unable to escape. She wasn't quite sure how, but he was… alive again.

Without realizing it she began approaching closer to the Tower, pushing her way slowly through the crowd while she fought against letting her legs collapse out from underneath her.

The Minister backed up, making room for Gaara to come forward. The crowd seemed shocked and everyone fell silent. Gaara looked over the group as some of the women looked fearful or teary eyed.

He cleared his throat and spoke slowly. "Over the past year, I have been taking care of you… I have also been trying to gain back something I seem to have lost most of. My past is not clear to me… More like a cloudy vision in sleep." He appeared to catch himself and shake his head.  
"I will do my best, as I have been doing. It is an honor to protect Suna." The crowd cheered, though many still looked unsure.

The Minister placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder as the new Kazekage walked back into the building; the older male then proceeded to thank all those who attended.  
"-And though there may be rumors about the demon… He is gone-, dead. Gaara is his own person, and a better one for it. I thank you all again." He concluded as he and the rest of his procession moved back into the building.

Sachi froze mid-step when the sound of his voice reached her, and she tensed up when the words that he said had sunk in. He couldn't remember his past… Did that also mean he didn't remember her? There was only one way to find out.

She gingerly maneuvered her way through the rest of the crowd, slipping between people as carefully as possible without hitting them with the tip of her bow. Stepping around the large building she found the wooden entry doors, only stopping long enough to give the guards her purpose before they grudgingly let her through. She didn't need to be told twice and she slipped through the double doors, hoping she would be able to navigate her way to the top without getting lost.

Gaara sighed as he sat once more behind the large wooden desk in the Kazekage's office. He was looking around when the Minister entered the room. "Gaara-sama, if I may... I don't think it was wise to let the people know of your memory lapse."

He frowned, "They will have to accept it if they are to accept me." He replied, not even glancing up at the Minister. The Minister bowed, but frowned as he left without another word.

Gaara was glad to be left alone… Although he knew there were guards still outside of the office should he need assistance. Though he had control of sand once again, so he knew not why he would need them… other than target practice. He chuckled quietly at the thought.

* * *

Lucky her, she had only managed to get lost in the hallways once before getting proper directions as to where his office was located.  
Turning yet another sharp corner, she gave a silent breath of relief when her gaze fell upon the large, heavy oak doors was no doubt what she was looking for. Slowly, almost timidly, she sidled up to the brutish-looking guards, the carpet below her feet muffling her footsteps.

"Um- Excuse me… I'm from the Hidden Leaf Village and… I wish to speak to the Kazekage." It took a lot of will power not to just call him 'Gaara', but she had to show respect outside of her village.

One of the guards went inside the office, The other made her wait. "Just a moment, please."

The guard inside bowed to Gaara, "Lord Kazekage, There is a woman here from Konoha. She wishes an audience." Gaara looked up and instantly sat straighter. "Let her in."

As the guard went out to tell her to enter, Gaara straightened his robes. He quickly made sure his desk was neat and cleared his throat. After all… maybe it was Her, the girl from his dream.

Sachi tensed as the guard stepped out and beckoned her into the room. With a polite nod of her head she walked up to wrench open the heavy door, appearing to struggle with its weight for a moment before finally prying it open all the way.  
Once she was on the other side she turned, making sure the door was completely shut before whipping around to face the one person she had thought to have been lost forever. But he had lost his memory, and if she said the wrong thing it could make matters much worse. She didn't want to do something she regretted, and again she took on that respectful air about her.  
"Kazekage-sama… Do you know who I am?"

Gaara stood slowly, an excited but unsure look in his eyes. "…You're the girl from my dream." He stated. Though he might've looked a bit older and taller, at this moment he felt very small, as if his whole world hung on her answer. His breathing was soft and uneasy, dreading the silence in the air.

It was apparent that he didn't fully remember her from his delayed reply, but the fact that he had put some recognition to her was a good start.

She nodded unsurely and took a small step towards him. "My name is Sachi…" She paused, unable to look away from him as she debated how much she should say.  
His mere presence was making her jittery, having not seen him for so long and thinking him to be gone for good. "We used to know each other, back in Konoha, before you…" her voice snapped off again, not able to finish.

"The dreams are very...vivid." He murmured, a small blush appearing on his cheeks.

He came slowly around the desk to stand in front of her. "I could not stop thinking about you… ever since the first dream. Sachi, I am glad you found me." He said, taking a small step closer.  
"I-...I remember the day it happened… I remember everything going dark, and you. You were so brave… You loved me so much." He said slowly, reaching out to take her hand softly.

A saddened smile formed on her lips and her vision seemed to blur as he spoke of the time when she had last seen him alive; the day Shukaku had taken over his body.

She reached up briefly to brush her fingers across a series of small raised spots on her shoulder, the scar that had been left by the demon. When she felt her other hand become enveloped in his it was as if her self-restraint had broken into a dozen pieces.

Without warning her body seemed to act of its own accord, and she shot forward to wrap her arms tightly around him. She didn't even think about the fact that the action may have startled him, only pressing her face into his chest and speaking in a muffled tone, "I've missed you, Gaara."

Gaara was surprised by her gesture, though he put his arms slowly around her.  
He knew he must have done this before, but it was still a cloudy part of his memory. After all, he had died… and lucky for him brought back.

He wasn't sure what to do, but then an image sequence suddenly came to his mind; it was of the night before he had to leave for his last mission... and he became partially rigid.

"Sorry." Sachi managed to squeak out, taking the opportunity to loosen her hold on him. Everything was completely overwhelming, just to think that on the very day after he had died a year ago, she was seeing him again, alive.  
Her head tilted back to look him in the eyes with an almost sheepish expression plastered to her face.

Gaara looked down at her, and a small smile appeared on his face.  
"No, it's okay. It feels… like I'm supposed to hold you." he said, pulling her against him.

Slowly, he began to remember a few things about her; how she had stayed by his bedside so many nights in the hospital, how she had cried when she heard he had to leave on a mission, and how she had whispered comforting words to him after they made love for the first time. It was starting to come back... but there were still loop-holes.

He leaned in closer so that his forehead was on hers, when there was a knock at the door.  
Gaara looked up, "What is it?" He asked.

"My lord Kazekage…The woman cannot stay in there forever. You have your duties..."

Gaara frowned, "Minister, I am fully aware of what needs to be done.""I shall be retiring to my chambers with my guest. I do not want to be disturbed unless there is a large-scale disaster."

The Minister's scoff could be heard plainly as he stomped away.

Gaara looked back down at Sachi, sighing softly as he played with a bit of her hair. "Sometimes he forgets who's really in charge."

Her eyes closed from the contact. The warmth of his body against hers, his voice, it all brought back the memories that she had tried so desperately to push to the farthest corners of her mind.

When the conversation between him and the Minister had come to an end Sachi remained still, leaning into him a bit.  
Her gaze moved to the doorway briefly before trailing back up to him. "So it seems." She answered jokingly, her smile still unwavering. "I still can't believe you're the Kazekage now." She chuckled, for the first time realizing how much taller he had gotten.

Gaara seemed to stand a little taller when she mentioned his new title. He smiled a bit, "Well, I've been playing the part for eleven months now… It just became official today."

He instinctively began to rub her back; even though he had remembered he used to do this before, it all seemed different.  
He stared at her with a renewed solemn look, "Sachi. I'm sorry I made you go through all that mess, and having to live with it for a year... It must have been rough on you." He said, pulling back and looking upset with himself. Would they ever go back to how it was? Would she love him as much, or would she leave him once he got caught up in the duties of being Kazekage?

Sachi looked down at her feet, her other hand resting on his upper arm. A small smile flickered to life and she looked back up at him reassuringly.  
"It's… It's okay. I'm just glad that I found you again… and that you're okay now." The smile faltered for a moment and her grip on his arm tightened unconsciously, as if she was afraid that he would leave her again.

Of course it had been difficult in the last year, thinking that she'd never see him again. It had almost come to the point of being unbearable, but all that mattered now was that he was here, alive and well in front of her.

Gaara still looked unsure, "It won't be the same… Sachi, I was actually dead! And because the old Kazekage brought me back… she's paid the price with her life instead. How can I live with that?" He asked. His voice was calm, yet heavy with disappointment and sorrow as he turned away to look out the window.

She sighed and stepped up behind him, "Gaara, the Kazekage knew what she was doing, I'm sure she had a purpose to bring you back. You care for this village, I can tell. And you'd probably do everything in your power to protect it." The tone she used was neither frustrated nor annoyed. It shook slightly, as if she was unsure of what to say, and it came out sounding timid.  
Her head lifted up, eyes picking out a blank spot on the wall opposite of them to stare at.

Gaara nodded his head before turning around and taking her hand again. He held it gingerly, as if it would break. He traced his fingers along her skin as if remembering every line before looking at her and pulling her close, resting his head on hers. Her scent… It was so familiar, and he smiled softly.

"Come." He said, tugging on her hand gently as he headed for the doors. "We'll go to my chambers, where no one will bother us." He opened the doors and was pleased to find that his personal guards were indeed gone for their rest.

Her face lit up with a smile once more, and she gave his hand a light squeeze as she followed in his wake. As they walked her gaze scanned everything they passed with curiosity. Everything was so… fancy; something she wasn't quite used to seeing except on occasional visits to the Hokage Tower in Konoha.

Gaara looked back and smiled at her reaction. Many people in the building bowed deeply as the passed, and he nodded to them. They reached the bottom floor and went down one level into the basement, where his chambers were.

As they entered Gaara closed the doors and gave Sachi time to look around. It was more finely furnished than any other part of the Suna palace.  
There was a large bed with a canopy, light tan-colored material acted like curtains surrounding it, as well as a short table with lavishly embroidered pillows for sitting and other fine things such as a silver set for tea.

"Wow. Fancy living, neh?" she remarked jokingly as she stepped further into the large room. She spun around slowly to take everything else in, the bed, the table, and the rest of the furnishings. "It's beautiful."  
She turned back around with a smaller smile, taking a few steps towards him as she spoke.

Gaara stood proudly, "Well… It's fine I suppose, though it doesn't make it seem like much of a home." He said, wrinkling his nose a little in play. He then smiled at her, also taking a few steps toward her. "I'm glad you like it."

"Hmm… You should have it furnished the way you want." She smirked, reaching a hand up to muffle a laugh at the thought of the Minister blabbering on relentlessly just for a change of furniture. As her hand dropped to her side she took another few steps forward, closing the gap that stood between them.  
Her arms snaked around his waist much like they had earlier and she leaned into him again, just grateful for his presence.

Gaara smiled and had to laugh as he thought of when he had tried to change the décor… and shook his head, "I would rather not go through that again." He said.

His laughter subsided however as she hugged him, and he smiled a bit softer. He put his arms loosely around her, just letting his eyes wander over her features.

Gently, he tilted her head up to look at him, "I know I've said this before, but it seems like so long ago." He sighed and leaned in closer, his face barely an inch away from hers.

"I love you." He said softly. Not only was it to her, but also to reassure himself that it was true. Slowly he placed his lips on hers, and it was like a wake-up call to his system. A shiver went down his back and he held her more firmly.

His breath brushed against her cheek when he had spoken, and she closed her eyes slowly. It seemed like everything else around them was extinguished as she felt his warm lips on hers.  
It wasn't until then that she realized how much she had truly missed him, and her heart seemed to skip a beat.  
Sachi's hands untangled themselves from around his waist, only to be linked back together loosely around his shoulders. Her lips twitched into a smile and she moved to deepen the kiss, running the tip of her tongue lightly across his bottom lip.

Gaara's heart rate picked up as she moved to deepen the kiss. He was a little nervous, half hoping he was as good at this as he was before… but only she could judge that.

He held her tightly against him, wanting nothing to make this moment end. He kissed her back, opening his mouth for her and letting his own tongue rub against hers a little unsurely.

His taste was just as she had remembered it to be; intoxicating, and she couldn't seem to get enough of it. Though she could feel his hesitancy, and her smile widened a fraction as she leaned forward more. She gave a content muffled sigh into the kiss to urge him on, the tips of her fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns across the back of his neck.

Gaara went along with her lead, becoming more confident as he used his hands to lovingly rub her hips.

He heard footsteps coming down the hall toward his quarters and he reached a hand behind him. Sand quickly sprung from the two vases on either side of the doors and covered them like another wall, and Gaara smirked into the kiss.

Her eyes opened briefly to see what he had done with the sand, and she choked back a giggle. Instead, she took the chance to break away from the kiss momentarily to catch her breath, before tilting her head to plant a trail of kisses along his jaw line. Her body pressed against his, and her eyes fluttered shut again.

Gaara let out a small gasp, his head tilting up as she kissed along his jaw. He squeezed her hips and held them tightly against him. As his breath lightened and hitched, his heart was beating erratically. To him it felt new, but also like something he had done before at the same time.

She kissed her way down to the side of his neck, using the very tip of her tongue to taste the skin there. Her arms removed themselves from around his shoulders, taking their original place around his waist. Her teeth grazed against the crook of his neck and she slowly- almost unsurely began stepping backwards, though not quite sure where she was going.

Gaara let his eyes flutter closed at her touch, and shivers went down his spine as her teeth grazed across his skin. He opened them in time to see as well as feel her pulling him with her as she began backing up.

He smiled and steered her around so that he was going backwards instead. This way he guided her back to his large bed and parted back the curtain. He pulled her to him, crushing her against him as he flopped back onto the bed, pulling her down into a bruising kiss.

This time she really did let out a restrained giggle, feeling that his hesitancy was diminishing as they went on. Sachi wriggled against him for a few brief moments, and her arms took their place around him again as she returned the kiss passionately. It was like an old seemingly burnt out flame in her chest had suddenly ignited again.

Gaara pulled away a bit to nibble on her ear, chuckling slightly. He sighed contentedly as laid back, smiling softly up at her.

A year ago after being brought back, he had felt so empty. Now it was like he was whole again, having found her.

Suddenly he could hear the Minister from outside the doors, going on about some dinner with someone else important. He had the sand rattle the doors in warning and the Minister shut up.

Sachi emitted something that sounded like a mix between a sigh and a light groan, and she did her best to muffle it in fear of anyone that happened to be just outside the door hearing her. Her hands gripped lightly onto the fabric of his Kazekage robes as she pressed her body further down onto him carefully, going to nip at his neck as she had before.

Gaara let out a breathily light moan, his head going back to allow her more access to his neck. He didn't care who heard. If anyone dared to bring it up in the morning, he would easily have them detained.  
He arched slightly; holding her hips and grinding up into her.

Not quite expecting the action, Sachi gave a small mouse-like squeak of surprise before lifting herself up from him.

Almost clumsily, she began tugging at his robes in an impatient attempt at getting them off.

Gaara managed to wriggle out of the top half of his robes, the rest gathering around his waist. He pulled her down for another kiss before tugging off her shirt, discarding it to the side.

Sachi pressed herself against him once more to return the kiss, and then pulled away to suck lightly on his lower lip. Her hands ran along the length of his chest leisurely before slowly moving down to caress his sides.

Another small sigh worked its way out as she felt his smoothened skin under her fingers, and her breathing was beginning to pick up.

Gaara panted softly, kissing her again lovingly as one hand went to caress her silver locks. His other hand ran along her thigh. He was becoming anxious; wanting to feel more of her soft skin.

She mumbled something undistinguishable as she sat up and began to undo her pants, fumbling momentarily before slipping them off. A teasing half-smile formed on her lips as she draped herself back over him again, capturing his lips with hers to continue their kiss.

Gaara smirked into the kiss, nibbling her tongue in a light playful manner. He reached up to her bra and quickly undid the pesky undergarment, tossing it aside. Slowly he let his fingers roam over her breasts; letting them remember by touch.

Sachi gave a loud moan, not even bothering to suppress it this time. A few memories came to the forefront of her mind from when they had made love for the first time, and now it felt almost as if their whole year apart had never happened- it was just them. Her body was now fully covering his again and she arched against him, hips grinding into his.

Gaara' s head went back and he grasped one breast firmly as he groaned.

He thrust his hips back up into hers, trying to wiggle out of his robes. With one hand it was hard; he smirked as he called up sand from a small vase and it pulled off his pants for him.

A second moan melted into a quiet snicker as she felt the gritty substance brush against her leg in its task of removing his pants.  
She could now fully feel his excitement pressing against her, separated only by their last barriers of clothing.

Her fingers slipped down to the waistband of his boxers, and in one fluid movement she began tugging them off. Sachi shifted forward smoothly, adjusting herself so that she was straddling his stomach before leaning back down onto his chest.

Gaara blushed when his last article of clothing was removed, but quickly tried to cover it up by caressing and kissing her breasts lightly, trailing his tongue over her sensitive nipples. He rubbed her hips as he did so, tugging off her panties.

She arched against him again and a pleasant shudder ran along her spine.  
Despite the fact that they had done this before, she still had the vague feeling of self-consciousness, and her face flushed a light pink. As her hand began trailing downwards across his chest and lower abdomen, she kept her unfocused gaze on him, wanting to see his reactions as well as keeping watch for any sign of hesitancy in his expression.

Gaara pulled away for a moment, his hands still grasping her hips. "Sachi." He said her name, his voice drenched with longing. Slowly he let his hand trail down her legs, slipping between them to gently rub her wet pink folds firmly, but carefully. He wanted to make it up to her; to make up for his year of absence.

Sachi whimpered loudly, throwing her head back as she nearly collapsed against him when she felt his fingers against her. Wanting desperately to return the favor she reached behind her, unsurely brushing the very tips of her fingers against his hardened member.

Gaara grasped her hand, giving her a loving kiss.  
"This is for you." He whispered, slipping a finger inside her. Slowly, he thrusted in and out with it before adding another. He wanted to please her… and make sure he didn't hurt her later. But he also wanted her to know, that he wanted to make her happy.

Sachi whispered his name into the kiss as her senses began to heighten, her heart beating rapidly, and her breath coming out in short, ragged gasps. It was becoming increasingly harder for her to function properly, and her hips thrust forward against him uncontrollably.

Slender fingers encircled his manhood entirely, and she began moving her hand up and down lightly, trying to please him as he was pleasing her.

Gaara moaned out and leaned back from the kiss, withdrawing his fingers and pulling her hand away from his member at the same time.

He kissed her again before looking at her, a little unsure. "Ready?" He asked, close to the point of panting.

"Yes…" Her voice came out sounding hoarse, yet it contained a pleading tone to it.  
Sachi placed her hands onto his chest to steady herself before scooting back. Her hips aligned with his, hovering just above him before she looked back down, her eyes clouded with lust.

Gaara glanced down and placed his member just under her entrance. He leaned up to kiss her, and he thrust up into her as he pulled her hips down. He rolled his hips up into her with a semi-moderate pace as pleasure slowly began creeping throughout his body, causing him to groan even louder.

Sachi pressed her face into the crook of his neck to stifle the considerably deeper moan that arose.

His earlier actions had already brought her close to her breaking point, and with each thrust she was getting even closer. Her hips lifted up from his again, but this time she quickly brought them back down onto him before bringing her lips up next to his ear to murmur urging words.

Gaara picked up the pace, still holding onto her hips as he thrusted up deeply into her. He could feel his own release coming… but it wasn't quite as near yet.

He began sucking on one of her pert nipples, swirling his tongue around it, hoping to heighten her pleasure.

"Gaara…-" Sachi muttered out his name as she rolled her head back, no longer able to lift her hips from him as she had been doing. One hand shot up to tangle into his hair, the other clenching at the sheets beneath her. She was so close; she could already feel her muscles tensing in preparation.

Gaara lifted her by her hips, bringing her down hard on him and moaning loudly. Now he was almost there; He began to nibble lightly on her nipple, moving her faster and with more force.

That final hard thrust was what finally pushed her over the edge, and she arched her hips into him one last time as her body felt like it had been set aflame. A hushed moan turned into a cry of pleasure and her eyes closed forcefully shut as she fell against him at once, breathing hashly.

Gaara felt her grow tight around him and he gritted his teeth. He had to keep thrusting, not ready to release yet.

"I'm… S-sorry." He said, thrusting up a few more times before pushing himself deeply inside her and releasing his seed. He went limp against the bed, panting hard and unable to pull out until he could get up a little energy.

After the waves of intense pleasure had died down only a sort of fatigued, light-headed sensation remained. Sachi sighed contentedly as she weakly wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace, hoping to convey her feelings through the small gesture.

Without even realizing it, a small tear had slipped down her cheek and a powerful emotion overcame her… It had been so long since she had seen him, and this made her realize she never wanted to be apart from him for that length of time ever again.

Gaara felt her tear fall on him, and fear crept into his senses. "Sachi? I didn't hurt you did I?" He asked.

Gently rubbing her back, he worried he might have done something wrong. He certainly didn't want her to remember this night by thinking how he had ruined it. He just got her back, and he would not be able to live with himself if that were the case.

Sachi shook her head violently, giving him a warm smile as she did so. "No, no. It's nothing like that."

She lifted her head so that she could look him in the eyes properly before continuing. "…This past year, when I thought I had lost you for good… I felt like part of me had died along with you. But now it's like I've found that part again- like you've brought it back to life." She whispered, her head lowering again so that her chin rested on his chest.

Gaara smiled almost sadly. "It's been the same for me. When I was… brought back, I felt lost. And when I started to remember and have dreams of you, I felt I **had** to find you, or else I'd be lost forever." He nuzzled her shoulder tenderly.

"Then I'm glad we found each other again." She teased, her face taking on a calmer, more serene expression as she rolled onto her side to cuddle against him. She felt a wave of peace hit her, like the sense of fulfillment would never leave her as long as she was with him.

Gaara smiled, "I am too." He put an arm around her and pulled the blankets over them. In a few moments he closed his eyes, fully aware of what he would have with her come tomorrow.

Her eyelids drooped shut, and she gave a small yawn as she squirmed to get as close as she could to him. She mumbled something else as a thick veil of darkness seemed to drape over her, and she fell into a dreamless sleep, definitely among the most peaceful she had experienced in the last twelve months.

Gaara closed his eyes, for once over this past year he felt truly complete. He was happy, and no longer confused.

He knew now exactly who he was. He was Gaara- Kazekage, and Sachi's one love.  
He sighed and soon drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** _Holy mother-of-crud-on-a-stick_, I haven't updated in _forever_! For those of you that are still sticking with us, I apologize again profusely for the delayed chapter update. School's been hectic and I seem to keep getting sick, which in turn makes the school work pile up even more. I won't ramble on any more, as I hope you're ready to get to reading the next chapter. So, enjoy!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning the silver-haired kunoichi's still form stirred, finally awakening from her heavy slumber.

With her mind still drowsy from sleep she shivered, one hand groping out blindly to pull the covers up to her chin.  
Sachi's eyes opened finally and she shifted to her side to stare at Gaara, smiling lightly at how calm his face appeared in his sleep.

Gaara stirred after a moment as well, but he did not fully awaken until the Minister was pounding on the door.  
"Lord Kazekage! You're late for this morning's meeting!"

He sat up straight and gasped groggily, "Oh crap!" Quickly he looked around for his pants, pulling them on and dressing in his robes.

Sachi sat up stiffly to hang her legs over the side of the bed, watching Gaara in amusement as she too reached out for her clothes to get dressed.

She supposed there were better ways of being awakened in the morning, and the Minister's insistent pounding on the door was not among them. "Want me to-" she paused mid-question to yawn again before continuing, "-Stay here until you're done with the meeting?"  
Her hands fumbled to pull her shirt back down over her stomach as she leaned back onto the edge of the large bed.

He finished fixing his robes, glancing up at her. "It could be a while." He said, grimacing slightly as he thought of the hours spent in the company of the stiff elder Sand nin who thought they could get him to do things their way.

He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "You can go back to sleep for a while, I'll make sure to have a guard outside, should you need anything."

He headed to the door and gave a small halfhearted wave, opening the door and closing it behind him as he left.

"Not a bad idea, actually." She mumbled to herself as she watched him exit the room.  
She stood there for a few seconds as if debating on what to do.

Her exhaustion eventually won her over and she stepped back to the bed, collapsing lazily back onto the mattress. Another yawn pushed past her throat as she crawled under the shelter of the blankets, looking forward to a bit more rest.

* * *

Gaara sighed, sitting in the large circular room with a bunch of aging nin… It had been two hours since he had first sat down, the old bats just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.  
They wanted him to tear down an area of housing for a new larger training building;

Frankly he just wanted to tell them to shove it up their-  
Gaara shook his head, placing a hand on his forehead.

Finally Gaara couldn't take it any more, and he stood up abruptly. The elders looked startled as he began to speak with renewed authority.

"I am the Kazekage, not any of you old fools."

The Minister gasped; he stood and looked stern. "My lord, don't be rash."

Gaara looked pointedly at him, "And you, Minister. You shall be replaced." The Minister gasped again and began to beg, but Gaara shoved past him, heading toward his chambers. He was upset, and feeling a bit angsty.

* * *

For the second time that day, Sachi moved beneath the covers. Though unlike last time, she found that she was unable to go back to sleep. After about ten minutes of laying with her face pressed into the pillow, she turned around to lay on her back, staring blankly at the canopy of the bed.

Gaara still hadn't returned, which meant he was still in the meeting. She felt sorry for him now; two hours of sitting at a large table with a bunch of pushy older villagers had to be torturous.

She stretched out again before kicking the covers away from her and sitting up.  
With all the tossing and turning she had been doing in the past few minutes, her hair and clothes were messy and disheveled.

All in one movement she leaned over and stood from the bed, nearly tripping as her bare feet brushed against the skirt of the bed. She took up where she left off last night on her exploration of the room, eyes scanning over everything that could catch her interest.

* * *

Gaara reached his chambers and was about to enter when his messenger boy came to his side.  
The boy bowed deeply, "Lord Kazekage, You must meet with your council to decide upon a new minister." He said, handing Gaara the official notice.

Gaara sighed and sent the boy off, glancing longingly at the door before walking away. He would catch up with Sachi once he had this mess cleaned up.

He went into the court room and took charge. Now that he had become more assertive, he was going to put it to good use. He picked a new minister and got rid of his 'advisors'.  
'Pretty productive day.' He thought to himself, walking out a few hours later.

* * *

Okay, he definitely hadn't been kidding when he said it would take a while, and Sachi had just found that out the hard way.

With a lack of anything better to do she had gone back to lay on the bed, not even attempting to go back to sleep. She took up the same stretched out position, covering as much of the bed as humanly possible as she ran her fingers through her messy hair.

Quickly walking back to his chambers, Gaara dashed in the door and slammed it shut behind him. He let out a breath of air, looking a little worn out.

Startled for a moment Sachi sat up abruptly, only to realize who had entered. "How'd the meeting go?" Her overly-bored expression vanished, replaced with a small smile.

Part of her warned against even bringing up the subject of the meeting, because it was clear on his face and in his actions that it didn't go too well. Shaking the hair from her face she rolled over yet again, pushing away from the bed to stand up and face him.

Gaara shook his head, rubbing his temples. "It was a mess...they all wanted to tell me what to do. So I told them off.. and fired the old Minister and advisors." He said with a grimace.

"Did you really?" Amusement danced through her voice as a cheeky grin plastered itself to her face. "Well maybe the new ones won't be as bad." She suggested, trying to brighten the mood somewhat. At least the old Minister was gone; he had even managed to annoy her a bit. She bit back a laugh as she made her way over, stopping about a foot away from him with the same broad grin.

Gaara sighed, "I hope so..." Not paying much attention to her grin as he made his way over to the window.  
"Maybe they were right though… Maybe I don't know what I'm doing." He seemed down; the words of the council having taken a toll on him. They had said he was unfit; that the old Kazekage should have never brought him back from the dead.

Her smile faded, being replaced by a more serious expression. "Don't say that… You've taken care of this village long enough to know that you're a great Kazekage."  
She was half-tempted to add the 'they're just jealous' line, but at the moment that seemed a bit childish to say.

"…Perhaps." He said with a great sigh. "Maybe you're right. Though they had no one else, and had to make me Kazekage because that's what the old one wanted." Gaara might have been acting childish, and seemed to be almost pouting, but so much had been pushed on him.

"As I've said before, the old Kazekage knew what she was talking about… Besides, the rest of the villagers don't seem to have much of a problem with you. From what I've seen and heard, it's only your council that has the problem, and the Minister. …Well, it was." She corrected herself, sticking out her tongue slightly as she mentioned the small uptight group. Not quite sure if he wanted to brood on his troubles or not, she took a step closer and wrapped an arm around his waist comfortingly.

Gaara sighed and leaned into her slightly, but said no more. It all was running over and over in his head... and what of his other friends he had left behind?  
"Sachi, how is everyone else doing back at Konoha?" He asked slowly.

Sachi tilted her head back in concentration, trying to gather up her thoughts of everyone from her home village. "Well, things sort of slowed down once you… left… But in the past few months Naruto's become quite strong, he's even learned a few new jutsus… I'm not sure how Lee and Sakura are doing; they went on a really long mission, so I haven't seen them for a while, but they should be back by now."  
The look of concentration grew as she tried to recall what else had changed since then, but to be truthful, it had been quite dull in the last year.

Gaara nodded slowly, "Naruto… I have much to thank him for." He said, remembering the blonde's promise to watch out for Sachi for him.

"Yes, he's been very kind." She remembered back to nearly a year ago, how she had experience a sort of small breakdown the moment she returned home from the hospital, and how Naruto had tried to comfort her, doing everything he could to get her through the first few months.

"You should take a small vacation sometime and visit Konoha, I'm sure everyone would be extremely happy to see you again." She was thinking aloud again, vaguely wondering if anyone from Konoha even knew Gaara was still alive.

Gaara suddenly beamed, "Do you think the Hokage would let Naruto and the others come here? Just for a short while?" He asked, excited at the thought. He would enjoy them coming to visit, and perhaps it would help to lighten things up for him and make him feel a bit better.

She gave a light smirk as she turned her head to look him in the eyes, sensing the sudden change of mood. "I'm sure she'd be willing to spare them for a bit. Besides, if Naruto knew where you were, he'd come visit whether the Hokage allowed him to or not." She gave a small chuckle at her blonde friend's stubborn side, knowing very well that he would do something like that.

Gaara smiled even wider now, "Yes..." He mused, "I bet Naruto would." He chuckled a little and hugged her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Sachi, I wanted to thank you… for last night." He said softly, placing a light kiss on her neck before pulled away to smile softly at her.

A small blush crept unwillingly onto her face and she leaned against him, her arm still slung around his waist.  
"You're welcome…?" she squeaked out, her cheeks growing even more flushed. She wasn't quite sure why he was thanking her, but she was glad she had the ability to make him happy. Though the truth was, she should be the one thanking him.

Gaara chuckled, "…And also, for loving me, even when I was a monster." He said slowly, his smile fading into a calm look.

For the first time, he took a good look at her. Her eyes, her hair, her shape, and just _**her**_. He was slowly overcome with emotion, swallowing hard.

She seemed to squirm restlessly under his gaze, unable to keep herself from speaking. "You never were a monster." She said firmly, vaguely remembering the time they had met, when she had told him something similar right before she made the very first contact with him. She lifted a hand up to place it over his cheek gently, finding that it comforted her just to touch him.

Gaara kissed her forehead before moving toward the bed, making the covers up neat and sitting down to lay back with his arms under his head. He thought about her words and closed his eyes peacefully.

"Thank you." He whispered softly; but this time, it was for the old Kazekage… For giving him another chance.

She stood still, only watching him as he lay there. How was it possible that one person could invoke so many different emotions in her, all at once?  
Regardless of the answer, it certainly was possible, and he made it so.

She walked over to stand not too far away from him, leaning casually against one of the wooden bedposts with her arms folded behind her back. "So, does Suna have anything interesting besides the unending piles of sand that seem to inhabit every possible crevice?" she joked, giving another teasing smirk as she leaned her head back to hit against the polished wood.

He opened his eyes and sat up grinning. "'There's the oasis. We could go swim… if I can sneak out of here for a while." He suggested with a glint of mischievousness in his eyes.

"Perfect." Sachi's face seemed to brighten, the prospect of being able to swim again appealing greatly to her.

She used to take occasional trips down to the small streams and lakes in Konoha just to swim, and she hadn't been doing it too often lately.  
"…But how are we supposed to get out without them noticing?" She had already taken a few steps away from the bed in her excitement, only to pause and realize the possible flaw in their plan.

"Just trust me." He said, getting up off the bed and going to the window.

He opened it carefully and took her hand. Sand from below the window rose up, forming something that resembled a staircase that angled down to the ground for them.

Gaara led her down it and began to run with her towards the edge of Suna. Just out of town was where the small lake was, the body of water surrounded by brush and some trees, blocking out any unwanted peekers.

"Why do I have the feeling you've done this before?" she asked in between deep breaths from running. It had all seemed so well rehearsed, as if he had done this many, many times before now.

He grinned, "That's going to be our little secret." He said, "But yes, I have."

Gaara stopped once they were in the trees, kneeling down to touch the water, "It's perfect here. No one ever comes around this area." He mused as he took off his robes and waded into the water.

Sachi looked almost like a little girl for a moment, eyes wide in amazement as she took in the lush trees and water around her.  
"It's beautiful." She commented, looking back at him with a broad grin. She had left her bow and quiver back in the room, meaning one less thing to worry about. With a bit of hesitation she stepped into the water, deciding to keep her clothes on for now. They were in the middle of a desert, she could always let them dry by the sun on their way back. Even the water's temperature was perfect, not too hot, nor too cold. She closed her eyes as she waded in further, feeling the water come up to her hips before stopping.

Gaara dove under the surface; he had always enjoyed the feeling of the refreshing water around him. He came up for air and laughed, splashing Sachi playfully, "Come on, It's not all too deep over here."

She chuckled and waded in a few more feet before lowering herself all the way into the water until it reached her shoulders. She shot him a quick smile before holding her breath and kicking her own feet out from under her, causing her to not-so-gracefully become submerged with a small splash. The water was cooler than she had originally thought, and she stayed under a few moments longer before resurfacing, suddenly having a difficult time of keeping her unruly hair from her eyes. Turning to the red-head again she returned the gesture and sent a small stream of water towards him before backing away swiftly.

He gasped and laughed lightly, splashing her back and then quickly diving under the water. He came back up behind her and tapped her shoulder, grinning. This was the most fun he had had in a while. He hoped she would be able to stay for a few more days at least.

Sachi had begun to look around frantically as he disappeared underwater, and she knew he was more than likely to emerge at any time to scare the living daylights out of her. The small tap to her shoulder signaled that she had been right, and she whirled around, giving a quiet sort of mock shriek as she fell back into the water, so that only part of her face was above the surface, ready to go under if he attempted to splash her again.

He shook his head and instead swam backwards in an almost teasing manner. He dove under again, this time deciding to stay under longer than before to try to test how long he could hold his breath.

She dunked her head below the surface and swam in his direction. The water wasn't too cloudy and she kept her eyes squinted open, using the sandy floor of the lake as a guide. She could see his blurry outline not too far away from her, and she maneuvered around him to brush a hand against his foot and swimming back around before he could realize where she was.

He coughed and sprang up, glancing across the water's surface. He spun around quickly, looking at Sachi. "Did you see something?" He asked her. He had always had a thing about unseen creatures swimming in the water, but he always blamed Kankuro's scary water monster stories.

Sachi stifled her laughter, instead pretending to scratch at her nose so her hand covered the broad grin she wore. "I dunno… I thought I saw something silvery over there." She commented casually, using her other hand to point a few feet to her left. It was becoming increasingly harder to choke back the laughter that threatened to escape.

Gaara looked around to where she pointed and moved back away from it. But then, he hit a rock with his heel and ran for shore, jumping out stark naked, panting and gasping. "I felt it again!" He shouted, pointing to the water accusingly.

That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back.  
Sachi's hands flew to her sides and she doubled over in a fit of loud giggles. Of course, she hadn't meant to scare him that badly, but the look on his face, as well as his reaction had been priceless to her, and the mere thought made her sink further into the water, still laughing hysterically.

He stared unbelieving until it dawned on him what she had done. He folded his arms tightly and a large pouty frown adorned the fearless Kazekage's face.

Just as she had calmed down somewhat, Sachi made the mistake of looking back up at him. Despite the shallow depth she had a hard time of keeping her head above the surface, trying not to inhale any water as the laughter came back full force. Once it was starting to hurt her sides she clamped a hand over her mouth in a failed attempt at stopping. "S-sorry. I couldn't… help it." She managed out between biting back the giggles that begged to escape.

Gaara wasn't only embarrassed, but his pride had been hurt. He grabbed up his robes and pulled them on, then proceeding to walk out of the trees surrounding the small lake.

Her laughter subsided quite abruptly as he distanced himself from her and she jumped up, struggling to get out of the water quick enough as her soaking wet clothes seeming to add a lot of extra weight. In hindsight, maybe keeping everything on hadn't been such a good idea.

Once she reached the shore she sprinted after him as quickly as she could go without tripping over something. "I was just kidding around! Come on, Gaara, I'm sorry!" She called after him, coming up behind him.

Gaara paused mid-step, "I'm sure I am needed back by now." He said, his tone firm and formal. He didn't like being made a fool of, no matter who was making fun at him. He began walking again and didn't even glance back at her.

Sachi's gaze lowered, staring blankly at the ground as she followed a few feet behind him dejectedly. She honestly hadn't meant to aggravate or hurt him, especially not to get him angry at her. A sickening feeling of guilt welled up in her stomach, and her throat seemed oddly constricted as she trudged through the sand after him.

He had begun to think about saying something, but thought better of it. He was never one to go back on a stand, and though it might not seem like such a big deal to Sachi, as someone who had to take care of all of Suna, Gaara didn't need to have his already low self esteem shot down bye a prank- Let alone by the girl he loved.

Sachi remained silent as well, her own stubborn side rearing its ugly head. It was apparent that what she had done was affecting him greatly, and she sighed, keeping in mind that she'd never do anything like **that** again.

For lack of anything better to do she began wringing the lake water from her hair and shirt, hoping it would remove some of the weight that continuously made it harder for her to walk.

Once they were back outside the building Gaara once again made the sand staircase, but it only let him use it, sinking back to the ground before Sachi could climb up to the room. Gaara had, of course, done this on purpose.

An annoyed huff flew past her lips as he disappeared inside, and she stepped forward to give a rather harsh kick to the wall, only to have a short burst of pain shoot across her foot. _Smooth._

Now she was really stuck. She couldn't go inside the tower, or else the guards that she passed would become suspicious of her soaking wet clothing and question her. Gaara most likely wouldn't let her back into the room anyways, even if she did by chance manage to get in unnoticed.  
What could have been taken as a failed attempt at a glare crossed her face and she leaned against the wall, arms crossed grudgingly. She'd have to dry off before she did anything else anyways.

* * *

Gaara sat down in his chambers; he groaned loudly and began to assault the wall with sand attacks. The room shook, and soon Gaara quit before the guards came and thought he was being attacked. He just wanted to prove to himself that he was strong... He should have known better then to go out into the water like that… He has always been skittish of it. But what Sachi did was rude and degrading to him, and he wiped away an angry tear as he plopped onto the bed.

Sachi tilted her head up as a few rather violent vibrations traveled through the surface of the wall, running across her head and back before they simply vanished.  
Instead of anger, the same feeling of guilt returned, and her head lowered to stare blankly at the ground again. This was their first real fight, and it was like a sort of standoff where neither side wished to cave.  
Another groan escaped her, and she began trying to wring out her clothes again in an almost desperate manner.

Gaara sat up again, this time surrounded by the rubble of broken pottery and other things besides bits of wall.

He began to think about what might happen if the others came to Suna too. Would they make fun of him? Make a fool of him as she had done? He shook his head in anguish, perhaps she hadn't meant for it to turn out like that, but she should have thought about it before. And it wasn't really about the incident in the water anymore, it was how Gaara now doubted her faith in him, because maybe she didn't think so highly of him anymore.

* * *

Sachi turned around again to face the window, feeling restless. She didn't quite wish to venture away from the tower just yet, as she didn't have her bow and arrows with her, making her defenseless. She looked over her shoulder quickly to make sure no one else was around before tilting her head up and doing the only thing she could think of at the moment.  
"Gaara! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you!" she yelled out, her voice seeming to crack towards the end. She couldn't take just sitting there waiting for something to happen anymore, maybe she could somehow fix this.

Gaara heard her calling up to him and he looked at the still open window. He didn't want to talk right now and stood up, slowly moving to the window and shutting it softly. Within the next moment he leaned against it as it seemed everything was simply adding to the weight on his shoulders. He rubbed his forehead lightly, trying to clear the ever present headache.

An expression of disbelief flitted across her face, but it was soon replaced with a look of annoyance. Sachi literally growled, giving another rather hard kick at the wall before spinning on her heel and heading down a side alley street not too far away from where she stood.

He had made it clear that she wasn't going to be able to speak with him for a while, and it was probably best that she took a walk to calm herself down anyways, although with her terrible sense of direction, that probably wasn't the best of ideas.

He felt bad now for shutting her out, but he decided they both needed some space for now. So much had happened in the past year for them.  
Gaara sighed and left his room, heading out of the building the other way so he hopefully wouldn't run into her just yet.


End file.
